Dearly Beloved
by TangentDream2
Summary: Sequel to I'd Love You More. A new baby brings back daunting memories for Sonic. Whilst trying to correct his past, his future couldn't be more traumatic.
1. No Refunds

Chapter One: No Refunds

Pacing around her bathroom, Amy waited for the longest three minutes of her life to reveal her suspicions. The nausea, the out of schedule cramping she received a week before her monthlies and of course, the missed said monthlies. She gave her body a couple of days to catch up. It was usually clockwork for her, same day every month, lasting the same amount of days with the usual pains and aches. All structured, maybe the odd blip.

This month? She was five days late. Five! That was four days too anxiety inducing for her. Her body wouldn't mess up like this. Not unless she was...

She breathed heavily. She knew exactly why she was nervous. Sonic. How was he going to take the news? Captain Contraceptive. The no risk hedgehog in the bedroom? No matter their situation: Out in public, a spontaneous moment, a quickie on your best friend's desk, he carried protection. Even when their choice of where to make love was questionable, he still had enough common sense to protect himself.

Children had been discussed a few times between them. Whilst Amy was happy to accept any unexpected pregnancy, Sonic was on the opposite end of the stick. Even though he stated he'd _possibly_ want children in future, right now, he just wanted her. That was a fair opinion and of course she respected it, but if this test came back positive, how could she tell him his ideals were not going to happen?

Though they were ready financially. Thanks to their Unit project, the hedgehogs were fairly well off. And with their new home replacing the house the late Doctor Eggman had destroyed, they definitely had enough rooms and space for children.

That of course didn't make Sonic feel any more ready for children of course.

Her communicator beeped, alerting her that the gruelling three minutes had passed. Getting up from her seat on the side of the bath tub, Amy grabbed the pregnancy test she had placed on the window sill. She didn't dare look down. The nerves were killing her. How was she going to to tell Sonic, no, Captain Contraceptive that his contraception hadn't worked?

Another heavy breath came out her mouth. No, she was probably overthinking. It could have been negative and all this worrying was unnecessary. Maybe it was those pesky birth control pills she took all those months ago. Yeah. That could be it. They messed her body up then, they probably did the same now. Perfect explanation... She shook her head. That was months ago. What was the likelihood of that affecting her now?

Okay. No more games. Just read the test. What was it again? One line was negative and Two was positive. Okay. No big deal. Just her relationship hanging in the balance...

Amy slowly brought herself to look down at the test in her hands. Her eyes however squeezed shut. Damnit! Why was this so hard?! "You got this Amy. Just read the lines. No big deal. You got this... You got this." She opened her eyes and read the results. Her eyes widened. Yep, two dark lines. No microscope necessary. She was pregnant. Oh god, she was pregnant!

Oh god. Sweet mother of Chaos. Lord Almighty Chaos himself. She was carrying a baby. Sonic's baby. There was a baby inside her... Captain Contraceptive's baby!

She covered her mouth as the shock wore off and the realisation smacked her hard across the face. What was she going to do now? More importantly, how was she going to tell Sonic?

The girl jumped by the sound of banging on the bathroom door. Sonic's excited voice could be heard from the opposite side. Thank God she locked the door. "Ames! Orbot and Cubot have released this week's mechs. Come on, we gotta go!"

"J-just a second!" Amy answered him. Wait, she couldn't fight now. Oh god, this was how he was gonna find out wasn't it? Oh no, not like that.

"No pressure or anything, just a city on the brink of destruction happening right now..." Sonic sarcastically joked.

"O-okay." Thinking too quickly and irrationally, Amy threw the test in the bathroom bin and washed her hands. She eventually opened the door to see her boyfriend smiling back at her. His face immediately changed at her appearance.

"Are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost." Ah, she didn't bother to look at her reflection or wash the shock off her face. She was pale, pupils dilated with fear. "Everything okay?"

She had a few options here. Did she just flat out tell him how his child free days were now over? Pretend she was absolutely fine? Or make up an excuse? Sick? Long distant relative had just passed away? "I, uh..."

"You're scaring me now. What's happening?" She tried to speak but her anxiety held her back. If he found out, he was going to leave her. It took this boy two years to admit what they had was a relationship, another three years to grow accustomed to ordinary life. Having a baby would probably just throw those five years of personal growth, five years of their relationship.

So, to protect her relationship, she chose to lie. "I'm fine. Really. Should we go now?" Of course she came off as aloof to her blue boyfriend. She always did when she was lying. She walked passed him to prepare herself to leave alongside him. He looked around the bathroom one more time before closing the door behind him. Eh, she would probably tell him after the battle.

* * *

Charging through the city with his girlfriend in arms, Sonic came to a stop in front of their friends. They cheered momentarily on their arrival before continuing to smash Eggman's robots.

Sonic placed his girlfriend on the ground and began to spin dash the robots. He, along with his friends were so distracted, they failed to notice Amy stepping back from the fight and taking cover in a dark alleyway.

"Hah!" Sonic smashed through the elite robots with ease. Even with Eggman gone, he was actually kind of pleased that his loyal metal assistants had taken over the invading. Not that he wished to see the people of city in danger of course, but he would be lying if he said he didn't benefit from it. The hero work cured his boredom and whatever damage that was caused was taken to Unit to be fixed or sorted, thus securing his and Amy's job there too.

The doctor gave him purpose in life and in death. May he rest in peace.

"Ha! This just gets easier with every fight!" Knuckles grinned as he slammed his fist into a robot's head.

"Tell me about it." Rouge agreed, kicking a robot to disassembly. "Guess those fools can't make those mechs anywhere near good as Eggman."

"Their shielding isn't as high tech as it once was. Has to be expected when the boss is gone." Tails pointed out.

"Whatever the reason for shoddy mechs, we gotta destroy 'em. Who's with me?!" Sonic charged into the hoard of robots, spin dashing through the army. His friends joined him in the onslaught, destroying the hoard easily. The people around them cheered as Sonic destroyed the last robot. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" He watched as Cubot and Orbot came down from their hiding spots and began to collect the scraps of metal. "Uh, shouldn't we be suspicious as to why these guys are always collecting the scraps after each battle?"

Tails shrugged. "They probably don't have the funds to get new parts every time they build the robots. I say leave them be."

Sonic nodded, walking away from the mess of robot parts scattered across the ground and reuiniting with his team. "Not bad team! That was a piece of cake." His stomach growled at the thought of cake. It was lunch time now. Better get something to eat. "How about we all go for lunch? My treat!"

"I won't say no to free food." Knuckles agreed. Tails, Cream and Rouge nodded at the blue hedgehog. Hang on, weren't they missing someone?

"Where's Amy?" Sonic looked around to find she was nowhere in sight. "Amy? Amy!" He continued to look around, becoming frantic with every passing second. Oh no. What if a robot had escaped and had taken her with them? What if the mechs wanted revenge against him for accidentally finishing off Eggman? Enraged, he grabbed onto Cubot who was still rummaging through the scrap metal. "Where's Amy Cuboid?!"

"Uh, actually it's Cubot... Or is it?"

"We don't have Amy. Here, I will run a scan through the area to prove it!" Orbot insisted. He scanned the area around them in infrared. He picked up a body hiding behind a pile bins in an alleyway. "She appears to be hiding in that alleyway over there."

Hiding? It wasn't like Amy to hide from a fight. "Yeah... thanks Orbot." He released Cubot from his grasp. "Sorry for holding you up like that Cubot."

The little robots fled before anymore trouble came their way. Sonic dashed to the alleyway and moved the bins out of his way. Surely enough, Amy was crouched down in the corner. "Ames. Are you alright?"

Amy looked up to find her boyfriend staring at her. She quickly stood up and dusted herself off. "Yeah. Fine. Why?"

"Huh, I don't know. You're attempting to camouflage behind a pile of cans?" He crossed his arms. "What's going on? You've been acting funny ever since we left the house. Have I done something wrong?"

She meekly smiled at him. "I'm fine, Sonic. Really. Everything's fine." Who was she kidding? She was far too skittish to appear fine.

Regardless of her suspicious behaviour, Sonic chose to ignore it. Their relationship was strong and didn't have secrets. She would probably tell him later. "If you say so. We're gonna get a bite to eat. You coming?"

It was probably less suspicious if she went with her boyfriend and friends to get something to eat. The time with her friends would also take her mind off of the baby too.

But no. She needed to make sure everything was okay with her child. Find out the ins and outs of pregnancy and to ensure Sonic had a voice in their options after she told him, find out her options for alternatives.

"Uh, no. You know, I'm feeling a little tired. I think I'm gonna go home and have a nap." She insisted, faking another smile for him.

He was genuinely concerned about her odd behaviour. He took her hand in his and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I love you." He told her, trying to reassure her of his feelings.

Amy pressed her lips against his tenderly, wanting to reassure him that her love for him was just as strong. He kissed her back eagerly, his agoraphilia activating his amorous nature. Her worries left her in the midst of the lustful kiss. She allowed him to press her up against the wall and enjoyed his passionate touch as his hands roamed her body.

"Hey!" Knuckles called out from the bottom of the alleyway. "Are we going for lunch or what?!"

Sonic growled at his echidna friend as he broke the tantalising kiss. He pulled his girlfriend close, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"We both know what would happen if you come back with me." She giggled. "Besides, you can't leave a hangry Knuckles wondering where his food is."

"Good point. You need to rest anyway. I won't be too long. I'll come back and take care of everything."

"You're so sweet." She pecked his lips again. "No need to rush though. I'll probably be knocked out for a few hours." As sweet as it was for Sonic to want to come home to her and look after her, she needed to make sure she got all the information she needed from the doctor and got home before he did. "Have a good time. Don't feel you have to come back to me so quickly. It'll be pretty boring."

"Hardly boring when it's just you and me. That's the best kind of fun." He groped her derriere, causing her to gasp and laugh at his antics. Oh how different their lives would be when he found out two would soon become three.

"Sonic!" Knuckles yelled towards the blue hedgehog.

"Alright!" Sonic yelled back. That echidna was such a mood killer. He lead his girlfriend out of the alleyway and back to their friends. "Message me if you need anything."

Amy nodded. Cream looked saddened to hear her best friend wasn't going with them. "You're not coming?" she asked miserably.

"Sorry Cream. I'm feeling rather tired."

Rouge crossed her arms. "Yeah. You must be so tired after skipping the whole fight."

"Leave her alone." Sonic insisted. He kissed his girlfriend briefly. "Love you." He rested his forehead against hers.

"Love you too." She smile contently at the blue hedgehog.

Knuckles grew impatient with the two lovey dovey hedgehogs. "Okay, either get a room or let's go. How you two have managed to not have multiple kids by now is beyond me."

"Don't get jealous, Knucks." Sonic smirked. The blue hero failed to notice Amy's nervous behaviour. "See ya later Ames." He kissed her cheek before leaving with his friends.

Amy began to walk in the direction towards their home. After reaching the end of the pavement, she turned back to see if Sonic and the gang were still in sight. Nope, good. She changed her direction, going from north, towards home, to east, towards the hospital.

* * *

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Mitsy smiled at the pink hedgehog who sat on the patient bed. The tall mongoose sat at the computer desk and searched for Amy's data on the database.

Amy smiled at her friend, relieved to finally have someone to talk to about her news. "I'm pregnant."

Mitsy gasped, spinning around on her chair. "No way!" She got up from her seat and grasped Amy's hands. "Aaahhh congratulations! I'm so happy for you! When did you find out? How did Sonic take the news?"

The girl sighed, looking down at her currently flat stomach. "I only found out this afternoon. I haven't told Sonic yet. That's partly why I'm here. I need to know what I need to do to safeguard this pregnancy... Or if Sonic doesn't want the baby then... What to do about that."

Mitsy looked concerned. "How do you feel about the pregnancy? You're carrying this child, not Sonic. He has a right to an opinion but ultimately, it is up to you. You do what is best for you." She turned away from the pink hedgehog and grabbed a small bottle. "As part of procedure, I have to confirm the pregnancy. If you don't mind?"

Amy took the bottle with her to the restroom. Within a few moments, she returned, passing the bottle back to Mitsy. After testing Amy's sample, she confirmed the pregnancy. "Congratulations." She pulled out a chart from her drawer and sat in front of Amy. "So, when was your last period?"

"April 22nd."

"And how long is your cycle?"

"28 days."

"Well we expect to see your little hedgehog on January 27th. You're currently four weeks and five days pregnant. I'll book you in for your eight week scan in a month from now if you'd like. That'll give you time to break the news to Sonic." The mongoose smiled happily to her pink friend. "I'm so happy for you. This is totally what you need after everything that happened to you. And don't worry, whatever you choose to do, you'll have our full support."

Amy nodded at her friend. The doctor pulled out a bunch of leaflets from her drawer, along with an antenatal book. "Now before we discuss the ins and outs, do you have a questions so far?"

Amy chuckled nervously. "Where do I even start?"

* * *

"I'm telling you, something's up with Amy." Sonic insisted. He had barely touched his food since they started eating. Whilst his friends carelessly chowed and talked away, he sat there, contemplating what was wrong with his girlfriend. She would never miss out on time with their friends. More importantly, she would never hide from a fight. She was a strong player to the team. A passionate activist for the people. Something had to be up with her for her absentmindedness.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Tails asked his best friend.

"I don't know. Ever since this afternoon, she's been... Off. I mean she's been a little odd for the pass couple of days but nothing like today. I think she's hiding something from me."

Rouge sipped on her smoothie, half listening to the hedgehog's concerns. Cream looked at Tails with concern. Amy hadn't said anything to her about what could have been happening. They were usually so close.

"Why don't you just ask her? No point complaining about it unless you can't find a solution." Knuckles said, taking a bite of his burger.

Sonic frowned at his friend. "I did ask her. That's why I am complaining to you guys."

"I say she's _carrying_ a little secret." Rouge came out with her opinion. She smirked towards the blue leader who was now staring back at her from across the table. "Think about it, Blue. You say she was in the bathroom for ages, acting strange for a couple of days, took shelter during the battle and even said she was too tired to come with us."

"What's your point?"

Rouge giggled at how clueless he was. The rest of the group also looked rather questionable to what she was saying too. "I say, she's just found out that she's pregnant and is keeping it to herself."

The guys immediately turned to their blue friend, flabbergasted by the potential situation. Sonic was speechless, baffled by her verdict. It couldn't be possible. He was always careful. Due to Amy's body being unable to withstand the side effects of birth control pills, he had to make sure he was always prepared. "Nuh uh. That can't be right."

"Oh?" She grinned at him. "What makes you say that?"

He blushed. As cool as he was talking about this kind of stuff with the boys, he never had the particular conversation of his private life with the girls before. Especially with a fourteen year old Cream sat right next to Rouge. Her young ears didn't have to hear about this kind of stuff. "Well, you know... I'm careful." He tried to put it as delicately as possible.

"How exactly?" She continued at him, her grin growing along with his blush.

Where did he even look? He hadn't felt this uncomfortable in awhile. "I wrap up..." He sat back in the booth they were sat in, his face as red as Knuckles.

"Honey. You know those don't always work, right?

"Say what?"

The bat raised her eyebrow. "You seriously didn't think just because you wear a condom, your little swimmers still couldn't get through? They do fail, you know? Not likely, but it happens." He stared back at her, mesmerised by her lesson in the birds and the bees. "You honestly didn't know?" He, along with Knuckles, Tails and Cream shook their heads. The woman rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't expect you to know, Cream. Did expect a little more from you Tails..." She looked at the echidna and smirked. "Definitely expected more from you, Knucky." She winked.

Sonic raised his eyebrow at the echidna. His friend muttered under his breath, a light blush appearing across his cheeks. He looked down at his lap. When could this have happened? If Rouge was right, it could have been pretty much anytime in the last two weeks.

"Check the bathroom. That's probably a good starting point to finding out if my theory is correct." Rouge told him, sipping on her smoothie.

He got up from his seat. "I gotta go, guys." He dashed out of the restaurant and headed straight home to look for clues. He prayed Rouge was wrong. There was no way Amy could be pregnant.

Right?

* * *

He rummaged through the house, trying to find an explanation to Amy's aloof behaviour. He searched through her drawers, her wardrobe, the storage rooms, cupboards, cabinets, bins. Everywhere he could think of, he searched.

Other than the bathroom bin. In fact, he left the bathroom til last. He refused to believe Rouge was making any kind of sense. Of course she was. Pregnancy could happen no matter the precautions. Unlikely... But likely. Chaos, make his situation unlikely.

After searching the whole house, he finally decided to head into the bathroom. He searched everywhere but the bin. Behind the toilet, behind the sink, in the medicine cabinet. Nothing. All that he could do now was check that bin. He slowly approached the evidence in question. Lifting the lid off, he immediately spotted the pregnancy test.

His heart stopped. The evidence was right there before his eyes. Damn that bat for being so observant. It could still be negative. Yeah, maybe she was curious, was checking to be sure. He picked it up carefully, not still even sure what he was looking for. He had seen enough TV drama, how do these things work again? Two lines meant the girl was pregnant? That was right. He read the test. Two lines were present.

"Shit!" He kicked the bin over out of frustration. Why? Why did this happen? How?! What was the point in protection at this point? He may as well have went bare.

Where was she anyway? Didn't she say she was going to have a nap? Their bed hadn't been touched. What the heck was with all these lies? They didn't keep any lies. Not since Eggman revealed the one sided kiss between Amy and that creep, Zenith. That was three years ago. Now she was lying about his child?

Oh Chaos. His child. That thought sent chills down his spine. He wasn't ready for this. He couldn't cope with this information right now. He didn't want this right now.

The sound of the door opening downstairs alerted him. Think. He could either confront her on her lies or pretend he didn't know. But if he acted like she had, he wasn't any better than her.

Once he cleaned up the mess of the bin, he made his way downstairs with the test out of her view. She seemed surprised to see him. "Sonic!" She gasped.

"Have a nice nap?" His tone sounding more snarky than he intended.

She said nothing, clinging onto the books in hand with all her might. Her eyes focused on them before returning to him, uncertain if he needed to know where she had been. He leaned over slightly, trying to see what she was holding. She recoiled. "I couldn't sleep so I got a bit of reading material, that's all."

"What'cha reading? How to hide a pregnancy?" His words left her flabbergasted. He lifted the test for her to see. Her facade ceased to exist. She dropped her reading material, books and leaflets scattered across the floor as she began to breakdown in front of him. For a moment, he just watched the tears stream down her face and helplessly sob. Now he just felt guilty. He intended on finding out the truth, not make her cry.

She wiped her eyes and tried to compose herself. "I was gonna tell you." She cried. "But I know you don't want kids right now and I didn't know how you'd react. I only just found out myself and I'm trying to get my head around it all and what with our relationship being so good, I didn't want to ruin that with telling you about the baby and--." Her rambling same to a halt as the sobs replace any words.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a consoling hug. "You thought I'd break up with you for being pregnant?" She tried to respond but she was so emotional, her sobs made her words incoherent. He couldn't help but chuckle hopelessly at her emotional state. She looked so cute. "Ames." He pulled away just enough to see her face. "C'mon now. Don't cry. I was upset that you lied to me. Not about the baby." Now he was lying. Although he didn't blame her for being pregnant, he was partially frustrated that she was now carrying his baby. Again, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't even his fault. They took the necessary precautions and that hadn't worked. All they could do now was go forward with whatever came next.

But what did come next exactly? Was she keeping the baby? Were they gonna sacrifice everything to raise their unborn child? Give them away? He shuddered. No, he knew what it felt like to be unwanted. Even if he didn't necessarily want the child, he didn't want them to ever feel the way he did. What was the last option? Get rid of it? He shuddered again. No. He didn't want that either. Man, if going back in time was an option, he'd definitely pick that.

"Sonic?" Her timid voice broke him out of his thoughts. He focused on his girlfriend again. She was staring back at him with fear in her eyes, desperate for him to give her the answers she needed and to reassure her that there was nothing to worry about.

The fear in her eyes made him feel compelled to sign his name in blood to ensure her smile returned. So they were having a baby a few years earlier than he wanted. No sweat. Babies weren't so bad, right? They could do this.

He stroked her cheek and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't you worry Amy. We got this."

Her worried expression melted away, replaced with a surprised expression and then happiness. There it was. The answer she wanted to hear. "You mean that?"

He held his smile. "Sure I mean it. We can do this. Together."

"Oh Sonic!" She threw her arms around his neck, her once tears of fears and sorrow were now tears of happiness. "Oh you have no idea how relieved I am right now! Thank you, thank you, thank you." She gushed. "I love you."

"I love you too..." She gently rocked them side to side in her euphoric hug. With his face hidden away from her sight, the blue hedgehog frowned at himself for lying to both her and himself about this new life. No matter how he told himself that he was doing this for her happiness and that he'd probably grow to like his role as a father, he couldn't help but feel he had made a grave mistake.

So this was happening. They were going to have a baby.

Well, no turning back now.


	2. It's Happening

Chapter Two: It's Happening

Chaos. If he heard another thing to do with babies, he's was going to drive head first off a cliff, into the ocean, wearing a weight attached to his chest. A whole month. An entire 31 days of hearing the exact same conversation amongst his friends. Baby, baby, pregnancy, parenthood, baby.

He was practically drowning anyway. With his girlfriend and all his friends talking enthusiastically about the team's first little baby, he felt suffocated, insecure, alone. Like he was screaming for someone to hear his despair but no one would bat an eye at him.

That was his fault of course. In the middle of all the happy congratulations and talks of his offspring, he faked an ecstatic demeanour, enthusing along with Amy about this new life that he had been forced into. Just to see her smiling.

Which, obviously meant he was lying to her. Thus making him a hypocrite for ever saying they didn't have secrets in their relationship. But he was still holding out for a miracle. That maybe as the pregnancy progressed, he'd fall in love with the idea of his child and therefore, he would no longer be lying about being happy.

Today was the day of the scan anyway. Perhaps seeing the baby on the screen would activate that sense of pride all dad's felt towards their kids?

"So Amy's scan is today? Are you excited?" Tails asked his best friend. Sonic had been distracted by the view of the sky. Vast and free. The thing he would never be again. Tails, who had been sat at his desk, span around on his chair and looked at the blue hedgehog gazing out of the open workshop doors. "Sonic?"

Sonic gradually turned to him. "Huh?"

"The scan. It's today right? I was asking if you were excited to see the baby?"

"Oh yeah, sure." He sounded disinterested, turning back to the view.

Tails raised an eyebrow. For someone who was going to see their baby for the first time, he didn't seem to care that much. The baby had been the biggest topic recently, maybe he just wanted a distraction. Or was this something more personal? Now that he thought about it, whenever they spoke about the baby, Sonic's quills would always raise slightly, as if anxious. Was that coincidental or...? "Sonic." The hero turned to him. "All this stuff about the baby... You are excited, aren't you? I mean, you don't have any regrets, do you?"

The question caught the hedgehog off guard. He scoffed, laughing somewhat nervously. "Pfft. Yeah obviously! Hey, number one dad over here. No doubt at all. Nope, zero, zilch." He nervously laughed some more. "Where's this coming from anyway?"

Tails shrugged, trying to come across less serious. "It's just... You remember when we all went to lunch and Rouge hinted to Amy being pregnant? Your reaction, to me anyway, seemed like you were dreading that possibility. Now it's happened... I don't know... You just seem as though you're not as excited as you let on." He looked up at Sonic's face for his reaction. Just as he suspected, the hedgehog appeared to be coy, like his act was being torn apart. Tails sat back in his seat, pretending he hadn't sensed Sonic's falter. "I could be wrong of course but... You can always talk to me if you need to."

He knew he could rely on his best buddy to see his true feelings. With a heavy sigh of both relief and frustration, Sonic sat on top of the desk. "You're right. I'm not excited about the baby. I'm not even a little hopeful about it. This whole situation is just too much for me, Tails. I took precaution every time to avoid this from ever happening. Now it's happened anyway and I had no choice but to accept it. This sucks! All of this just sucks."

Tails gave his friend a sympathetic look. It was clear that the pregnancy wasn't planned and while Amy was elevated to be carrying Sonic's child, as well as everyone else joining in on the happiness radiating from the pink hedgehog, it overshadowed Sonic's masked distress. Hiding his true feelings must have been exhausting too. Especially when the baby was everyone's main discussion when around him and Amy. "Have you told Amy how you feel?"

Sonic shook his head. "I told her I was happy."

"Why?"

"Tails." Sonic placed his hand on Tails' shoulder, looking straight into his eyes. "One day, your girl will come to you and tell you something you don't want to hear. But, to ensure you don't have a lifetime of misery, you just have to agree."

"But you're miserable because you agreed with Amy..."

The hedgehog blinked. "Alright. You have a point there..." He sighed. "I just don't get how this happened. I mean, I know _how_ but... How?!" The hedgehog wondered. He appeared to be lost in his own thoughts.

Tails shrugged. "It's like Rouge said. It happens sometimes."

"I bet it was that time on your de--" He stopped himself in mid sentence.

"My... what?" Tails glared at him. "Wait! You've been messing around in my workshop?!" The fox stood up from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk. Sonic avoided eye contact, feeling the boy's deadly gaze on him. The boy didn't even blink. "Sonic!"

"C'mon bud. I wouldn't do that to you." Sonic finally made eye contact, trying to come off as sincere as possible.

The fox scowled. "You realise I have CCTV all over this place, right?"

"Wait, seriously?" Well, that was his lies fully blown. He jumped off the desk and looked around the room for the cameras. No doubt, the camera were in fact attached to the walls, around the workshop. Awkward. His best friend probably had a bunch of sex tapes of him and Amy. He turned back to his best friend with a big smile on his face. "So do you check these things regularly?" He was met with the scowling fox, refusing to look away from him. "Alright! I'm sorry!"

"Where?" Tails growled at the hedgehog.

Shamefully, the hedgehog pointed to various areas in the workshop, much to Tails' surprise. He pointed at the desk, making the fox jump away from it with a screech. "Seriously Sonic?! What the hell is wrong with you two?!" He balled his fists in anger but refrained from blowing up on his friend. He sighed. "Is there anywhere else I should be cautious around?" Sonic gulped, slowly turning to his best friend's beloved plane. Tails' eyes widened. "N-no. No, no, no! Not my baby!" He ran over to the X-Tornado and hugged it. "You violated her!"

"I wouldn't say I violated her. I mean, she did most of the work that time."

Tails turned back to him with an even bigger scowl than he had previously. "Not Amy, the X-Tornado! After everything she's done for you, you did that to her?!"

"Well they shouldn't give names like cockpit to planes! It's misleading."

"... Get out..."

"We're still friends, right bud?"

"Consider our friendship on a break!"

Sonic gasped. Feeling the pang in his heart. "Tails, buddy. I'm sorry."

"Save it, Sonic. You broke my trust. The X-Tornado's trust. I can't even look at you right now." He turned away from the hedgehog. "You've gone too far." The hero tried to grasp his shoulder but Tails moved away from him. "Don't touch me!"

"I know what I did was wrong but it didn't mean anything! I was thinking of you the whole time!" Both males paused, confused by Sonic's words. The blue male wracked his mind, trying to process what he had said. "Hang on, that came out wrong... What were we talking about again?"

"Get out!" Tails growled. "I have a workshop to quarantine and... Tapes to burn." He pushed the hedgehog out of his workshop and slammed the button on the wall to shut the shutter doors behind him. The roller shutters came down slowly, removing any dramatic end to their fall out. Tails tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the shutters to come down. "If you could just imagine these slamming down in front of you, that would be great."

Knowing Tails was not going to forgive him anytime soon, Sonic sighed heavily and raced out of the Mystic Ruins. Great, with the only person who knew and cared about his feelings now being against him, he was back to being on his own in the unwanted journey to parenthood.

* * *

He found himself back in the deep end of all things baby. Sitting next to Amy in the maternity section of the hospital, the hedgehog looked around at the various pictures on the walls. Pregnancy bumps, newborn babies, happy family photos everywhere. If it weren't photos, it was leaflets and billboards all to do with pregnancy and motherhood. Eugh, this place was suffocating.

"Isn't it nice here? Such a relaxing place to have a baby." Amy had also been looking around. Amazing how their opinions could not be any more different.

Sonic nodded to her, giving her a smile before looking away. He was already feeling terrible after what he did to Tails. Holding his facade was just too much effort right now. His attention turned to a nearby couple. The woman be much further on in her pregnancy compared to Amy. Her partner was touching her bump with a huge smile on his face. Envy laced the blue boy's features, causing him to frown. That show off. Why did he have that sense of pride? How did he make himself feel like that?

With any luck, seeing his little creation would help.

"Miss Amy Rose?" The midwife called out.

The room became suddenly silent, all eyes fixated on him and Amy. Oh but of course. Him and Amy were famous, therefore, new baby was famous. Perfect, now his business would be plastered all over the news yet again.

"I thought I recognised her." He heard a woman say behind him.

"Sonic's having a baby too?"

He groaned. Grabbing Amy's hand, they quickly made their way towards the midwife. The midwife smiled, opening the door and allowing the couple to go inside. "Hello. My name is Jenny. I'll be doing your scan for you today." She turned to Amy, guiding her to the long bed. "If you could lie down on the bed for me and roll your shirt up and a little bit of your skirt, that would be lovely."

Amy lead down on the bed and did as she was told. She looked over at Sonic who was standing uncomfortably by the door. "Are you okay Sonic?"

The hedgehog had been absentminded whilst thinking about the paparazzi he and Amy would have to deal with in future. Eventually, he turned to his girlfriend. "Huh? Oh sorry. Yeah, all good." He noticed the chair beside the bed. He sat next to his girlfriend, holding her hand with a reassuring smile.

The midwife was tapping away on her computer. She then got up and sat on the opposite side of Amy. "Alright Amy. I'm going to put some gel on you now. I do warn you though, it's quite cold." She placed the gel on her lower abdomen. Amy gasped. Jenny definitely wasn't lying about the temperature of the gel. Placing the transducer on top of the gel, an image appeared on the screen next to her. She moved the device around, eventually stopping at a small rounded shape. "There you are, little one. Just the one in there, I see."

Amy gasped. "Oh wow. Sonic look!" She covered her mouth as tears fell down her cheeks. "There's our baby."

Sonic squinted his eyes. If anything, the picture looked like a bean more than a baby. Jenny noticed his reaction and giggled. She pointed at the screen, showing Sonic where to look. "This is the head, a few stubs back here are where the quills will grow. Then we have the stomach area. Hasn't quite grown limbs yet but they grow so quickly, it'll probably have arms and hands within a week."

"That's amazing." Amy stared at the screen. "Keep growing sweetheart. Mummy and daddy cannot wait to finally hold your hands."

He could definitely wait. That sense of pride was still missing. When was that supposed to turn up? He hated himself for not feeling happy to see his own child. He hated the fact that he saw nothing but a potato on the screen and not overjoyed to see his baby develop. When was that going to change?

"You can see the little heartbeat." Jenny smiled. Pointing to the small fluttering section within the baby on screen. "Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes!" Amy gleefully agreed. Sonic nodded. Maybe that would get his own heart racing with sheer joy.

Jenny pressed a button on the machine. The sound of a heartbeat soon filled the air. It was fast, very fast. "Is that normal?" Sonic asked. Not even his heart raced like that when he was running at the speed of sound.

The midwife nodded. "Oh yes. The heart of a fetus beats twice as fast as ours. Very normal. It'll slow down when they're closer to birth. Sounds a bit like a train, doesn't it?"

Yeah, a train soon derailing. The sound of his child's racing heart did nothing for him either. If anything, it filled him with dread. This was happening. They were really having a baby. He was trapped!

Before he could allow himself to sprint off in a frenzy, the midwife turned off the scan and gave some paper towels for Amy to clean herself. "There you go, lovely. You have a beautiful baby in there."

He would hardly call a bean/potato beautiful but hey, they were growing. They'd look a little more hedgehog soon. Oh boy. That didn't reassure him either.

"You'll have another scan at 12 weeks. We'll also have some various testing to do but I'm sure Mitsy will let you know all about it. She's been telling everyone about your little one. She couldn't be happier for you both." Jenny smiled, she began typing up the notes on her computer.

Amy giggled, once again failing to notice Sonic's annoyance. Why was everyone spreading the news before he could even process it himself?

"Oh, almost forgot." She pulled out a trail of pictures from the scan and gave them to Amy. "By the time you're back in here, your baby will look entirely different! Always nice to have a reminder to see how much they've grown."

"Thank you so much! Oh I can't wait to see our little angel again." She turned to her boyfriend. "Right Sonic?"

"Yeah. Can't wait." He gave her that typical smile he had grown accustomed to giving since he found out about the pregnancy. He looked at the pictures of his child in Amy's hands. That little rascal that managed to get passed his defenses... Or little rascal-ette. What was it anyway? "When do we find out if it's a boy or girl?"

"Oh you have a while until you find that out. The earliest you can find out is at 16 weeks. The most accurate time is at 20 weeks though. We'd tell you at 20 weeks." Jenny informed the couple.

Amy was giddy. Like a child in a toy store. "Oh, oh! We should have one of those gender reveal parties! Where you cut the cake and reveal the colour? Oh Sonic! I just can't wait!" She was simply oozing with happiness. Even if he wasn't happy with the baby, he was definitely happy that she was happy.

Jenny printed the report and placed it in Amy's maternity book. "I'll be seeing you both very soon. Congratulations."

* * *

"O.M.G. That is soooo cute!" Amy gushed as she grabbed a tiny outfit. He didn't have a clue how she managed to convince him to go shopping for baby clothes. Somehow he ended up in the middle of a baby store, surrounded by all things baby. Drowning deep in the world of babies. Chaos, the things he was doing just to keep her smiling.

She was picking up a bunch of pink outfits for newborns, gushing over the tiniest little outfits and shoes. "Amy." Sonic rolled his eyes at his pregnant girlfriend. "You can't buy girly clothes if we're not even sure what we're having."

The girl sulked. "But they're so cuuuute." She whined.

"Amy..."

The pink hedgehog reluctantly put the pink outfits back. "I just have a feeling that it's a girl. I can't explain it. It's just this overpowering feeling, you know?"

He chuckled. Of course she wanted a little girl. Someone to do girly things with no doubt. He could see it now. A little girly hedgehog, looking just like her mother, wearing Amy's shoes and caked in makeup that she destroyed just to look like Amy. Huh, that didn't sound so bad after all. "You never know. Could be maternal instincts or something. But until we do find out. No pink."

She groaned, moving away from the girl clothes and moving onto the little accessories. Newborn mittens and socks. "Aw. They're so tiny!"

"I should hope they're tiny. Can't imagine pushing out a giant baby."

"You're lucky you don't have to push anything out. Your job is pretty much done." Her hands fell to her hips.

_Oh no. My job was to prevent you from getting in this situation. I'm pretty much fired for life. _His cheeks puffed out with frustration. He picked up a pair of white mittens and socks. They came along with a novelty hat. On each mitten, it read 50% mum. On the other, 50% dad. The hat read 100% accident. "Now this, this is what we need!"

Oh boy. He made a mistake picking the accessories out. She had a face of thunder. "How can you say that about your own child!" She roared at him, she turned away from him, huffing and puffing whilst on the verge of tears. "It may have not been planned but that doesn't mean they're not wanted."

_Speak for yourself_. He placed the accessories back and held his girl from behind. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or the baby. Don't let my stupid jokes ruin our day. C'mon, we can pick something out for the little guy... or gal."

A smile soon appeared on her face. She turned back to face him and wrapped her arms around him. "So you're wanting a boy?" She grinned.

"It's the better of the two evils." He smirked.

She came across offended. "But I'm a girl. Are you saying I'm evil?"

"The worse." He chuckled, giving her a brief kiss. "Now come on. Let's find something for baby."

They continued to look around the store for a gift. Toys, more clothes, teddies and the necessities. Sonic believed it was too early to buy any of the necessities. Amy on the other hand was more than eager to get everything for the baby. After a little debating and disagreeing, the decided on a white cotton blanket. They arrived at the till to buy the gift.

"Oh that is a beautiful blanket!" The cashier beamed. "This'll make a wonderful gift. Would you like me to wrap it for you?"

Amy shook her head. "No thank you. We're saving it for our little one. Doesn't have to be too fancy."

The cashier looked at her stomach. "Oh sorry! I didn't realise you were expecting! Congratulations! How far along?"

_Are we really gonna have a conversation like this whilst there's other people waiting? _Sonic looked at the growing queue behind them.

"Only eight weeks. We just had our scan this afternoon." Amy excitedly told the cashier.

_"_Aw. Well congrats to you both. No doubt everyone's excited to see the baby of Sonic The Hedgehog and Amy Rose! Oh you'll just love parenthood! I remember when I held my first-born for the first time. You won't ever feel love for anyone like you do for your baby." She packed the blanket into a bag and handed it over the counter. "I can see it now. You'll make such a happy family."

_Family._

_Family._

_Family._

The images of his past came flying back into his mind. The look of disappointment in his mother's eyes, the images of him alone on his childhood bed, rocking himself to sleep, the echoing of his own cries for his family.

_I don't want him __dead. I just regret the ritual_ _sometimes._

_Mama! I'm back! I'll be a good boy, mama!_ _Don't leave me..._The stress of it all got to him in that moment. His heart began to palpitate hard against his chest. His hands clammy with sweat as he began to randomly perspire. His eyes dilated and his head began to spin.

"Are you okay, Mr The Hedgehog?" The cashier asked.

Amy turned to Sonic and gasped. He looked petrified. "Sonic?" His legs collapsed. He fell to the floor and presumed to shake violently and hyperventilate, gasping for air. Amy dropped to his side. "Sonic!" She turned to the cashier and the customers who watching in horror. "Someone call for help!" She turned back to Sonic who was trying to breathe properly. "It's okay. It's okay, Sonic. You're gonna be just fine." She held him in her arms as they waited for someone to tend to him.

His words were inaudible. Staring at the ceiling, he could only make out one word through his short breaths. "Mama..."


	3. Panic

Chapter Three: Panic

_"Alright doctor. Give it to me straight. Am I dying? Do I have a disease?" Sonic asked the doctor._

_The doctor chuckled softly. "Not at all Sonic. In fact, you're in 100% good health. However, I do believe this is a more mental situation."_

_Sonic sat up in the hospital bed, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"_

_"You experienced a panic attack."_

_"A what attack?" He scoffed in disbelief. "Heh, look, I don't panic, okay? I'm as cool as the winter breeze. There's no way I freaked out about anything!"_

_The doctor gave him a sincere smile. "Panic attacks can be random. They can also be triggered by high amounts of stress." He held his reassuring, compassionate smile. "Remember, whatever is said in this room is strictly confidential. We do not need to tell your partner unless your own life or hers is at risk." Sonic nodded back at him. "Have you been under a lot of pressure lately? Feeling more stressed than what you consider normal?"_

_As much as he didn't want to admit to having any issues, he couldn't deny he was feeling the stress of the pregnancy. He nodded slowly, looking down shamefully._

_"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." The doctor told him. "We all get a little stressed at times. Would you say this is a new thing for you or have you felt like this more than once?"_

_It was the first time he had experienced a panic attack. Heck, it was the first time he could remember being so anxious. He hadn't felt like that since... childhood. "I can't say I've felt so on edge before. But I do get these... flashbacks? Had them for years but I... I don't like to think about them." Again, he looked down at the ground, feeling embarrassed by his emotions._

_The doctor nodded at him. "If it'll help, I believe you'll benefit from speaking with a therapist."_

_"Nuh uh. I'm good. Been there, done that." Sonic hopped off the bed. "I'm feeling good to go doc. Just sign me out and I'll be on my way."_

_"Therapy is completely optional. Although, what may not work the first time, may work a second." He walked over to a desk and pulled out a leaflet containing a contact number for a therapist. He handed it to the hedgehog. "I'm not saying you should go, but if you need it in future, you'll have the number."_

_"Thanks doc." He walked towards the door but stopped as he was about to grab the handle. Oh, right. Amy was probably on the other side, wanting to know exactly what was wrong with him. He couldn't tell her about the panic attack. She'd wonder what caused it and possibly link it back to the baby. No, she couldn't know about that now, it would crush her. "Uh... Doc?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Is there anything similar to these attacks that I can tell my girlfriend about? She's pregnant. I don't need her worrying about me right now."_

_As much as the doctor wanted to help the hedgehog, it would be deemed unprofessional and against protocol to give out a misdiagnosis. He humbly bowed his head to the hedgehog. "I'm sorry. It can be difficult to not worry your partner, especially when they are pregnant. But if anything, having your partner's support through this may be beneficial to both of you."_

* * *

_Yeah, somehow he knew, in this case, telling Amy about his worries regarding the baby were not going to benefit him at all. Telling her about the panic attack would mean telling her how he lied about being happy about the baby. She didn't need to know that. "Uh, sure doc. Thanks..." He nodded to the doctor and left with the feeling of the world on his shoulders._

* * *

He couldn't wrack his head around it. He, being the responsible yet carefree hero. The hedgehog that everyone looked up to, had a panic attack. He actually freaked out in front of his girlfriend and everyday people. It had all happened so suddenly too! One moment, he was listening to Amy ramble on about the baby and then? On the ground, struggling to breathe.

And it hurt. Chaos, it hurt. Being uneducated in biology, he assumed what he was having was a heart attack. The way his chest squeezed tightly, constricting his breathing which only got harder and tighter as he struggled even more to breathe. How his body shook uncontrollably all the while his joints ceasing in a state of paralysis. It was terrifying. The whole thing lasted at least ten minutes. That was enough for him to know that these attacks were something he never wanted to experience again.

Luckily for him, that had been the only one he had experienced. It had been four weeks since that panic attack. He felt the various symptoms coming onto him however. Whenever the talk of the baby, parenthood and anything related to family came about, the hedgehog found himself incapable of remaining calm. If he wasn't feeling his chest being clenched, he was sweating profusely. If it wasn't that, he was dizzy, nauseated or suffering from palpitations.

He understood it was no longer a one time thing. Even if he wasn't having the attacks, he was feeling anxious. It was exhausting, feeling so on edge all the time. As well as having to act like everything was perfectly fine and that he was still happy with Amy being pregnant. How he managed to maintain his facade was beyond him.

And so, as part of his facade, he continued to support his girlfriend through her pregnancy. Sitting back in the waiting room of the maternity centre, next to Amy, they waited for the midwife to call them for the scan.

"Can you believe it? Three months pregnant already. Just six more and we'll have our little angel with us." Amy smiled down at her ever so slightly protruding stomach.

Sonic breathed out heavily, tapping his foot on the ground to relieve himself of the anxiety. "Yeah. It's great..."

Amy instantly picked up on his tone of voice. She had noticed his mood changes lately. Excusing himself from the room every now and then, how he'd look rather overwhelmed recently. She assumed it was the stress of this new life they were going to have. Parenthood was going to be a big step. Even bigger for Sonic. It had taken him two long years to acknowledge her as his girlfriend after all. Coming to terms with a baby was probably going to take longer. The poor guy was probably trying to come to terms with it all.

Her hand rested on his, making him turn to her. "Sonic..." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I know all of this is a lot to take in. All these appointments and everything to do with this baby in general. But you'll be a great dad. I just know it. As long as we have each other, we'll be a happy family."

_Family..._

_Family..._

Oh geez, it was happening again wasn't it? The symptoms rushing back to him along with those pesky memories he had spent years covering. No. This couldn't happen again. Not now. If he had another attack, he'd be forced to go back to the doctor, with Amy insisting to be with him. He'd have to tell her that he lied about not being diagnosed and thus telling her about his problem.

"Sonic? Are you okay?" His girlfriend asked, noticing his dilating eyes and paling skin.

He tried to ignore the symptoms. She needed him to be supportive right now. "Y-yeah. Don't you worry about me, Ames. You've got enough to worry about."

"You're my partner. I'll never stop worrying about you."

Her words were soothing enough for him to calm down a little. The couple exchanged a smile, reassured by one another's loving gaze. Even through his silent suffering, he was grateful to have such her near to keep him sane.

"Miss Amy Rose?"

That was their cue to go through. Amy gave Sonic another reassuring smile before they walked together into the ultrasound room. With a sigh, Sonic braced himself to see his developing child again.

* * *

"Everything seems to be just right." The midwife confirmed. She pointed to various parts of the baby's body, explaining each part and how well they were growing. Sonic could barely hear what she was saying. All he could hear was the sound of his own heart racing.

That was definitely a baby hedgehog on the screen this time, rather than the potato/bean he had previously mistaken it for. It had only been four weeks. How on Mobius had the baby grown from looking like a vegetable, to his child?

A thought came to his mind, causing him to mentally slap himself. He felt disappointment. Disappointment in knowing his own baby was okay and that it hadn't just been erased. It was alive and healthy... And that upset him.

He felt like a monster.

"Aw look. The baby's moving it's arms around." Amy giggled.

The midwife smiled along with the pink hedgehog's bliss. "It may not be awhile until you feel them moving but it's definitely nice to see them moving around." Jenny looked over at the hero. He was staring intensely at the screen, emotionless. She assumed it was probably the first time dad stress getting to him. It wasn't uncommon for her to see. "Dad?" Being the only male in the room and the father to be, Sonic could only assume she was talking to him. He slowly turned to her. "Would you like to hear baby's heartbeat again?"

His gaze immediately turned to Amy, only to find her staring back at him. She was visibly concerned. As if seeing passed his emotionless expression to see his vulnerable, anxiety-ridden state.

The symptoms he had been trying to ignore got stronger with every second of silence that passed. He began to feel his heart palpitate, the feeling of pins and needles threatening to take away his ability to run very soon. Not now. Not in front of Amy. Not in the middle of seeing his child.

The thought of the baby only made his symptoms worse. He got up from his seat, panting frequently as he spoke. "I'm sorry. I have to go..." He breathed out. He rushed out of the room as fast as he could, leaving a confused and devastated Amy.

He ran wherever his legs would take him. No particular location, just going with the wind. No matter how far he ran. How fast or slow. He couldn't shake the memories. His childhood once again flooding his mind.

_Mama!_

_For Chaos sake, won't you just listen to me?!_

_I'll be good. I'll be good. Don't leave me!_

The visions of his past were so vivid, he found himself petrified as he had been all those years ago. His limbs slowly became numb, too heavy to lift. Unable to slow down, the blue hedgehog landed face first against the gravelled ground, scraping his face harshly.

The struggle to breath became dire. Panicked, he hyperventilated in his efforts to survive. His short breaths causing his head to spin. The dizziness and lack of oxygen made him hallucinate. "Ma... Ma..." He breathed out, seeing the image of his mother before his eyes.

Losing too much oxygen, the hedgehog slipped out of consciousness, becoming one with his memories.

* * *

_"What happened to him? Do you think he was attacked?"_

"He_ could have been. But judging by how I found him, it's more likely that he fell face first._"

"Pfft_. That hedgehog needs to look where he's going."_

_"He was on the pathway. If anything, he would have to trip over his own footing."_

_And that doesn't seem like something Sonic would do?"_

Those voices. He knew those voices. Tails and Knuckles. They had found him? Where the heck did he even end up?

Slowly coming round, Sonic's eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times to adjust to his surroundings. He looked over to see his friends talking not too far from where he lay.

Ouch. His jaw was stinging. Curious, he touched the area. There were three long scratches down his left cheek, to his jaw. "Ah." He growled.

His growl alerted his friends. "About time you woke up." His echidna friend gave him a grin.

"How are you feeling?" Tails asked his best friend.

Sonic looked around the room. Ah, he was upstairs, in the workshop, on Tails' sofa. "Been better. Also been worse. What happened? How did I end up here?"

His friends looked at one another before both looking back at Sonic. "We were hoping you'd tell us what happened. After getting new seats for the X-Tornado, I decided to take her for a ride. I found you not too far from the workshop, passed out and bleeding on your cheek. I tried to get you up but you were practically dead weight so--"

"So he called the strongest guy he knew to come and rescue you. I carried you to the plane and in here." Knuckles said proudly, cutting Tails off.

Tails ignored the echidna's boasting and looked concerned for the hedgehog. "You don't remember anything?" He shook his head instinctively, not wanting to tell his friends what he had been going through in fear of looking weak. Tails frowned. "...Only Amy called me not long after we got you here. She told us you ran out of the scan and you looked overwhelmed. Does this have something to do with what we talked about last month?"

Sonic looked away, not saying anything. "Does anyone wanna fill me in on this conversation you had?" Knuckles looked at the two males, crossing his arms impatiently.

Seeing Sonic wasn't going to say anything, Tails sighed. "He has some regrets... regarding the baby."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" It took a moment for Knuckles to understand what Tails was telling him. He slowly turned to Sonic, not believing his own verdict. "Wait. Your baby? You regret your own child?"

"What's surprising, Knuckles?" Sonic questioned his friend in a low tone. He sat up on the sofa and stared down at the floor. "The fact that I feel a certain way towards my own child? That it's not what everyone is expecting of me?" He looked up at Knuckles. "Does that change how you see me?"

Neither of his friends understood his tone or his response. Knuckles scoffed, not really sure how to respond. "Alright. Is this a part of some joke. Because I'm telling ya, it's not that funny."

Sonic stood up from his seat, frustrated and done with holding his true feelings back. Two months of acting was too much to bare. "You want to know what's a joke? When you wear protection **every-time** you have sex and no matter how much you prevent the chances, you still end up having a baby! And you know what's also fucking hilarious? When you see your baby for the first time and instead of feeling happy and proud, you feel nothing but anger and disappointment because they are the living embodiment of a mistake." He scoffed. "To make that even funnier? How about lying to your girlfriend about how you despise your own child because you lied about wanting them in first place because you didn't want to lose her. So for the rest of your life, you'll have to pretend you're happy when really, your child does nothing but make you think how broken you are inside!"

His friends remained silent. Both processing what they had just heard. The only sound they could hear was the sound of Sonic's heavy breathing as his chest heaved. No one knew what to say. Yes, they had seen Sonic get pent up before. But at this level, aimed at them? No. And being broken? What did he mean by that?

Tails decided to break the silence with the necessary questions. "Sonic? Is there more to this than just regret? What do you mean by being broken inside?"

Sonic turned away, covering his face in despair after revealing a little too much in his relieving rant.

"Okay. You don't get to scream at us and then leave us wondering what the hell is wrong with you. Start talking!"

"I don't want to talk about it! Forget I said anything..." The hedgehog passed his friends, walking towards the opened door.

In an attempt of desperation, Tails stepped forward and tried to evaluate the things he heard Sonic say. "You're crying out for help!" His voice stopped Sonic in his tracks. He stood by the door frame, facing away from him and Knuckles. "On the surface, you're putting on a front. We know that. But this is more than regretting your child... This isn't about losing your freedom or the fear of losing Amy. This child reminds you of something you don't want to admit. Something you've been trying to avoid."

Sonic continued to be quiet. He could feel himself breaking down again. This time, not with anger, but in relief to have been heard and vulnerability from being so emotionally exposed.

The fox grabbed onto Sonic's shoulder and forced him to turn around. "You've always told us you were an orphan but you've never told us how. Has the baby caused you to remember anything about your family?"

The facade was over. Unable to hold himself anymore, the tears fell down his face, burning his grazed cheek. He sobbed in his anguish, giving into Tails' gesture for a hug. He cried on his best friend's shoulder, letting out all his emotions he held back for months.

* * *

"So what are you going to do now?" Knuckles asked, genuinely concerned for the blue leader.

After telling the boys of his troubled past, the trio sat at the kitchen table, drinking orange juice. Emotions still heavy in their conversation, the boys remained sincere to their friend in need.

Sonic shrugged, too emotionally drained to think. "Dunno. Just carry on I guess. I'm sure that happy feeling will come to me eventually."

"But what about you? You left Amy in the middle of her scan because it became too much for you. And finding you passed out? That's not like you. Can you remember anything that happened? Did you trip?" Tails asked.

He knew exactly what happened of course. Too tired to pretend he was fine, he decided to just come out with it. He sighed heavily. "I've been having these attacks..."

"What kind of attacks? Stealth attacks? Is someone after you?" Knuckles held up his fists up.

Sonic shook his head. "Panic attacks."

"Oh..." His friends gave him looks of pity. "How long have you been having these panic attacks?" Tails questioned.

"Had one last month. Had one today."

"Wait. Is that why you went to the hospital last month?"

He nodded.

"So you were given a diagnosis?"

He nodded.

"Sonic." Tails frowned. "This is serious. You can't keep things like this to yourself. Especially with the baby being such a trigger to your stress."

The blue hedgehog held his aching head. "I know but I don't want Amy knowing that I lied about wanting the baby. I don't want to stress her out either. The midwife said it's not healthy for the baby."

Knuckles raised his eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care about the baby."

This was difficult to explain. Sonic scratched his head, trying to find the right words to explain himself. "It's not that I don't care about the baby. I just don't want it." Again, his friends gave him looks of confusion. "Look, I can't explain it alright? Apart of me wants it gone but I don't want anything to happen to it at the same time."

Tails took a sip of his juice, trying to delicately ask the question. "Have you thought of seeing a therapist?"

"Nuh, uh."

"Sonic..."

"No."

"What's stopping you from wanting to get help? You clearly need it." Knuckles asked.

Sonic took offense to his comment. "I don't need help!"

Knuckles frowned. "Riiiight. So we're just gonna ignore your outburst an hour ago? How long are you gonna go on before that happens again? Besides, you've been to therapy before haven't you? Why is it any different now?"

He looked away. Yes, he had gone before... For about 15 minutes. After everything that happened with the Dark Sonic incident three years ago, he had agreed to go. Only, he couldn't bring himself to talk about his past. So after those 15 minutes, he threw in the towel and walked out. To this day, Amy assumed he had been and succeeded in his course.

"Sonic?" Tails sternly spoke.

"Alright. I walked out last time. But I was fine until this baby decided to break the barrier and exist."

"What's stopping you from getting help?" His best friend asked. Sonic sighed, not wanting to say. Luckily for him, Tails was becoming quite good at reading his mind. "Is it because you feel weak to ask for help?" Again, he remained silent. "Sonic, you're not weak if you ask for help."

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. We don't think you're weak if we tag team in battle. It's just getting help."

His friends had a point there. To win the battle going on in his mind, he'd have to 'tag team' with the therapist. He pulled out the leaflet for the therapist from his back quills. "When you put it that way..."

"It'll help you put things into perspective." Tails nodded.

"You're right. I can't keep hiding from this anyway. Thanks guys." He got up from his chair and headed out. "I'd better get back to Amy. No doubt she's gonna go nuclear on me."

"It was nice knowing you, Sonic." Knuckles bowed his head.

He waved at his friends, partially believing this would be the last time they saw him. Angry Amy was bad enough. Pregnant angry Amy...

Chaos help him.

* * *

Entering their humble home, the hedgehog tried to close the door as quietly as possible to not alert his girlfriend. If anything, Amy would probably be suffering from fatigue and taking a nap. Switching on the lamp on the table next to the sofa, he got the scare of his life to see Amy sat opposite where he stood. She was pissed. Arms folded with a face like thunder.

"You're back then. Enjoy your little escapade?" Amy scowled at her boyfriend. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear stains now dry but prominent.

He looked down at the bunch of flowers at his side. Did he give them to her now or run for the hills again? No. The last thing he needed was a hormonal Amy after him.

She stood up from her seat and placed her hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been?! I thought you were gone! That you chickened out of responsibility and took off. I mean, you just left! You said sorry and left! What on Mobius am I supposed to believe when you just up and leave like that?!" Fresh tears began to fall from her eyes. "You say you want this baby and then you freak out on me in the middle of a scan! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" She screamed at him, wiping her sore, red eyes.

Sonic smiled apologetically towards his girlfriend, approaching with caution and holding out the flowers. "Heh, look Ames. I know me running out on you looks pretty bad..." She frowned. "Okay, very bad. But I just got a little hot is all. I needed to cool off. But I'm back now. I even got you flowers to say sorry."

Despite her temper, she took the flowers away from him and smelt them. She smiled at the sweet smell hitting her nose. Her eyes returned to Sonic, her anger melting away. "Just promise me that you won't go running away again. I was sick with worry."

He pulled her into a hug and held her dearly. "I promise. No more running away."

She sighed contently as she laid her head against his shoulder. Hold on, she could have sworn she saw red on his face. She pulled away from him and looked at the scratches on his cheek. "Sonic! You're hurt!"

"Oh yeah... I ran into a tree..." He lied. Lost in thought while running? He didn't need her asking any questions about that.

Amy rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh Sonic. How many times do we have to tell you? Eyes on the road, mind on the goal." She tutted. "Come on, I'll get you fixed up." She grabbed his hand and lead him up the stairs.

"Is nurse Amy on shift tonight then?" He grinned.

She turned back to him with a big smile on her face. "Maybe. Depends if Doctor Flash is working too."

"That can be arranged." He groped her behind. She laughed, pulling him upstairs to tend to his injury and more.

It was moments like this that pushed him to want to get better. For her, he would face the hardest tribulation once more. If that kept her by his side, he'd face his trauma.

It was time to put the past behind him.

* * *

**AN: Happy New Year everyone. Hope this year is filled with happiness. **


	4. Therapy

Chapter Four: Therapy

The solace his friends provided over the following weeks had given Sonic the confidence to face each day head on. He endured the merry talks of the baby, attended every appointment, stockpiled the nappies and neutral colour clothing that Amy just couldn't resist buying. When things got too much for him and the symptoms came on, he'd tell his pregnant girlfriend that he was needed at Unit or receiving tests at the hospital to diagnose his supposedly one time fit at the store. He'd then go to see his friends and vent.

He felt awful for having to lie to Amy of course. Their once secret free, a tad white lie or two relationship was now festering with his lies. It was for her own good, he believed. The less she knew about his baby triggered illness, the better.

And with her pregnancy progressing rapidly, he was glad to have been seen by the therapist within weeks of calling them. The wait had been daunting. Thank Chaos for Tails and Knuckles because he was certain he wouldn't have coped the seven weeks if he had to wait any longer for the appointment. Amy was nearly twenty weeks pregnant now. He only had twenty more to get his mind in check.

No pressure at all...

Lying back on the recliner, looking up at the ceiling in the therapist's office, Sonic felt the world around him spin as the anxiety crept in. Here he was, after the gruelling long wait to get help, he was finally in the room, confronting his demons,

"These flashbacks of yours. How frequent are they?" The therapist, doctor Juniper asked.

"Probably three times a week."

"Can you tell me what you see in these flashbacks?" The hedgehog was reluctant to speak. "Take your time."

He wasn't used to talking about his past. Sure his closest friends now knew about it, as well as his girlfriend but that was only because Amy witnessed all of it for herself. Had she not connected with him through chaos control, she would be in the dark just as much as everyone else. And had he not had his breakdown, Tails and Knuckles wouldn't have known either. "Uh... Usually about my... My mum, my family and the village I grew up in..." He awkwardly spoke. He breathed heavily. "I, uh... I was abandoned when I was five."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sonic smiled bashfully, not sure how to respond. "So with these panic attacks and flashbacks that you have, have they surfaced recently or have you suffered with these for awhile?"

"The attacks, no. I've had these flashbacks for years. I just tried not to think about 'em. Now, they just come on without warning."

The therapist was writing his words down onto a notepad. "I see. And would you say there's anything in your life right now that could be causing these flashbacks to be triggered?"

Sonic sighed. Guilt washed over him knowing the reason why but feeling ashame for such a reason. "My girlfriend... She's pregnant."

"Congratulations... Or should I hold my celebrations?" The hedgehog turned to face him. "Does this child worry you?"

He jolted slightly. He didn't want to admit such a taboo. A baby was to bring joy, right? Yet here he was, about to spill how this child was the biggest mistake of his life. "A little..."

"How do you feel about this child? How do you feel when people, say, your partner for example, were to bring up the baby in conversation?"

"I--" He sighed. He felt like a monster. "I feel suffocated. Frustration... Honestly, I just don't want to deal with it. Like, I don't want anything to happen to it but if I could go back and stop them from being conceived then I would, without a doubt." His stomach churned at his sheer honesty. If anyone heard him now, they would think he was awful. That was probably true. "And the guilt? It's killing me. I don't want to hate the idea of a baby. But I do. I hate the fact that this... parasite is growing inside the woman I love and that I won't ever have my freedom again. I tried to prevent having a baby! Yet this happens to me. I feel fucking cursed with this child. I just want it gone!" He could feel himself getting angry. The pent up rage he had for this unborn child of his finally being released. As relieved as he was for getting all that off his chest, he loathed himself even more for ever thinking that way.

"There's nothing to feel ashamed about." Juniper told him. "If you tried to prevent something, only for that something to occur, you would feel angry. There would be anger, frustration, mistrust. You may question yourself; Why me? After being so cautious, why did this happen? How? Do I trust the form of contraception again? Will I be able to enjoy sex again without the fear of an unwanted pregnancy? All these questions and emotions are completely normal. Had they not have been normal, you would have never of thought them."

That was reassuring. Despite having Tails and Knuckles to talk to about his feelings, he never went into detail about his true feelings for the baby. He'd tell them he regretted getting Amy pregnant but never go as far as that. They always appeared to be uncomfortable or somewhat surprised to hear his feelings in regards to everything he was dealing with. It felt good to hear someone listen without the fear of being made the enemy.

The therapist was looking down at his notes, nodding to himself occasionally. He looked back at the hedgehog with a smile. "From what you have told me, I believe you have PTSD from abandonment." He stood up from his seat and walked towards the white board behind his chair. He picked up a pen and started writing on the board. "PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's an anxiety disorder, triggered by something traumatic in someone's life. In your case, this traumatic event occurred during childhood where you were abandoned by your family."

That was a lot of information to take in. But he felt fine! Sure, he was a little concerned about the baby and yes he did have some issues with his past. But an anxiety disorder? He was always so calm and collected. How could he have such a disorder?

"A panic attack is set off by the 'fight or flight' instinct within us. When met with something that threatening, this usually kicks in. We either fight, or we run. Hence the name." He drew a picture of the brain on the board, highlighting a particular area. "Now, we have this thing in our brains called the hypothalamus. This is the hormone releaser but we'll identify it as the watch guard. So, when introduced to a threat, the hypothalamus is on alert. It gets the body ready to either fight or run. Problem is, there is no threat. What's happened to you has already happened but it was so catastrophically traumatic for child to face, you're faced with the scars that never healed. Therefore, the memory is never processed and is stuck in the mind."

Apart of him could see the sense in his logic. The other part of him was getting a headache.

"With these scars, we have a broken puzzle. No one wants to relive something that causes them pain. So, we push it away. Anything related to that event; feelings, people, locations, anything, is locked away somewhere in our minds. But, now, there's a trigger. This trigger is a threat to you and that part of your mind that you locked away. Therefore, you are faced with the key to Pandora's box. This child is the new beginning to the one thing you forced yourself to forget. Family. Your mind deems this as a threat to you, activating the fight or flight mode, thus causing the panic attack. Any questions?"

Sonic scratched his head. "So, uh... What do I do about it? I mean I already told my girlfriend that I want to keep the baby. I know that sounds ridiculous after everything I said but I just wanted her to be happy. She's always wanted kids. I don't really have a choice in the matter now."

The therapist sat down in his seat once more. "Before I can give you an answer, we'll need to go back in time, to when you were a child, to find out what you truly want in your future."

"Okay, no offense. Now you just sound like a fortune cookie."

He laughed. "What I mean is, during our sessions, we can use a technique called CBT. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It's a gruelling treatment but highly effective."

"That's not a fancy way of saying electroshock therapy, right?"

"No. We'll talk through the memories together. Talk about every little detail about it and eventually sort through the memory so your mind can process what happened and file it away like a document in a folder."

Relive the experience. That was what he was saying. He would have to relive through the memory of losing his family, surviving on his own and dealing with all that.

How? How was he going to endure such trauma again? Think of the pain? The emotion? The last time he was so emotional, he ended up releasing a deadly evil version of himself into the world.

"We can also try other types of treatment but that one is the most effective one. By reliving the past, you may find peace with what happened and maybe it'll help you see your baby as a baby, rather than this key to all your troubles."

Now that made a lot of sense. If he was able to see his baby as the little bundle of joy that everyone else saw it as, rather than a parasite embedded into his lover, his troubles would be gone. He could finally have the family he had always wanted.

"I'll do it."

"That's great. We shall begin on our next session. Same time next week?"

"Sure thing." Both men stood up and shook hands.

* * *

_Click._

She lit the candle on their shared dresser, humming softly to herself as she prepared the bedroom for a night of romance. It would be a nice surprise for her boyfriend after everything he had put up with during her pregnancy. The mood swings, the craving collections, the sacrifices and compromises he was having to do in order to cater to her and their unborn child. She was so grateful for his patience, it was time to repay him.

The pink hedge hedgehog looked around the room at her efforts. Scented candles decorating the various furniture? Check. Rose petals, starting from the stairs and finally settling on their bed? Check. A cute yet seductive purple babydoll lingerie piece with the lace trimmings that covered her protruding bump comfortably? Check.

Was there something missing? Did she look okay? Had she brushed her teeth? Used perfume? The pregnant woman rush around to ensure everything was perfect.

It was quite laughable how much effort she was putting into one night. Anyone would think this was her first time. But even her first time didn't involve this much planning. In fact, Sonic had been the one to put all the effort into that special moment. On her 18th birthday, on a beautiful cliff, overlooking the ocean. Candles and cushions on a warm blanket. It was so romantic!

A sigh escaped her lips.

Romance was becoming more and more foreign to her. Yes, Sonic was still affectionate towards her, giving her hugs and kisses on the regular. But where was the spontaneous moments? The excitement she used to feel whenever he'd sneak up behind her and gently nibble on her ear before spinning her around and kissing her romantically? It seemed as though his libido had cooled down. So much so, he'd rarely initiate sex anymore.

Now that she thought about it. He hadn't initiated sex since she was 14 weeks pregnant. She was 19 weeks now. Five weeks? Really? Five weeks of her trying to get his attention?

It was like they were teenagers again. She, the interested party and him, the mildly amused.

"Ames? I'm back!" Sonic voice came from downstairs as he walked through the front door.

"Eep!" She squealed. Quickly spraying herself with perfume and checking the smell of her breath, the pregnant girl rushed onto the bed and laid down on her side. She smoothed the fabric of her lingerie nervously, making sure she looked immaculate for her boyfriend.

Leisurely making his way up the stairs, the blue hedgehog paused briefly at the sight of the rose petals across the floor, leading to the bedroom. Intrigued, he followed the trail with his eyes and caught a glimpse of the flickering candles on the dresser. Clearly tonight was going to be interesting.

He walked into the room, fully opening the slightly ajar door to find his girlfriend waiting for him on the bed. "Welcome back, Sonic." She greeted him.

"Wow. It's not even my birthday." He smirked at her. "What's all this about?" The blue hedgehog walked over to the bed, holding his lover as she got on her knees to hug him.

"I wanted to thank you for putting up with me and my mood swings."

"You mean thank me for doing my job as your boyfriend?"

She giggled. "When you put it like that, it sounds silly."

"I'm just messing with you, Ames. I appreciate it." Poor Amy. He understood that this was more than thanking him for being there for her. She was likely feeling insecure since he hadn't been very handsy with her like he used to be.

He felt like a jerk for his reasoning but he couldn't help how he felt. Her bump was becoming noticeable. Even though it was still rather small, it was enough for him to be put off by it. It was difficult to ignore the bump when he attempted to caress her. The minute he felt that hard stomach, he was instantly turned off.

But he knew that she knew of his distance. How long had it been since he came onto her? Made her feel wanted and special? He wasn't sure. More than a month, definitely. Oh man, how could he leave her feeling untouched for that long? So much for being a loving partner.

He scooped her in his arms, grinning as she giggled. He laid her back on the bed and towered over her. "You're so beautiful. You know that?" He whispered as his light kisses tickled her neck.

She sighed softly, tilting her head back slightly for him. "Even when I'm pregnant?"

Despite his distaste for pregnancy, he still saw her as the beautiful rose he had always seen her. Her question was hinting to her speculations that he no longer found her attractive. That wasn't a surprising assumption what with him being so withdrawn in the bedroom.

It wasn't like pregnancy was stealing her looks. Thanks to the pregnancy hormones, her skin had gained a natural shine and her quills grew a lot faster than usual. Many people complimented her appearance since the start of the second trimester. Pregnancy was definitely on her side.

He looked down at her outfit. This piece of lingerie covered her small bump nicely. Maybe he'd be able to enjoy himself after all.

Moving away from her neck to look into her eyes, he smiled down at her. "Even when you inflate to a size of a watermelon, you'll still be the most beautiful girl in the universe."

"Hey!" She laughed. Playfully smacking him. "Don't talk about size to a pregnant woman. We're more sensitive."

"My bad, Ames. But you are beautiful." His lips slowly traced back to her neck, kissing her tenderly. "And sexy." He muttered against her neck.

She moaned, enjoying the little affection he was giving her. Her fingers entwined with his as he moved his head up to join their lips together. Slow and sensual was just how she wanted it. To have him explore and appreciate every bit of her before the grand finale. It may have seemed selfish but after five weeks of being the giving party, it was nice to be the centre of attention.

He was playing it safe for now, showering her with kisses for awhile and then move onto gentle touches. Knowing Amy, she'd be taken away by his kiss enough to not need so much attention on her mid section. That way, he could avoid the mood killer and hopefully get the deed done. He deepened the kiss, adding a deep moan for her pleasure.

Another moan escaped her. She removed her hands from his and moved them into his quills. She massaged them gingerly, just like he liked. Her massages always loosened him up, making him more inclined to submit to the passion in the moment. That temptress.

She could feel him succumbing to her massage. How he moaned against her lips and his kiss grew more aggressive. The pink girl couldn't help but smile against his lips, knowing she had easily tempted him into her seduction by her mere touch.

He broke their kiss and pinned her hands against the bed, startling her in the process. He smiled deviously. "Temptress. I'm supposed to be making you feel good."

"So? Can't I make you feel good too?" She flashed a flirtatious smile.

"Well yeah but it's my turn now." He insisted, moving his hands along her thighs. He caressed the outside of them, slowly moving to her inner thighs. He watched her with a smirk on his face. Gradually, he moved his hand closer to her womanhood, watching as her hips moved and squirmed. He teased around the area, still caressing her inner thigh.

"Stop teasing me." She glared at him, smirking ever so slightly.

"You love being teased." He chuckled softly. He brushed his finger down her lower lips, causing her to gasp and shiver.

"Sonic..." She groaned. Her disapproval only made him tease her even more. She squirmed underneath his touch, eager for her own satisfaction. She lifted herself slightly, resting on her elbows. "Sonic."

He gave in to her groans and whimpers and moved his finger inside her. She gasped, falling back onto the bed and willingly submitting to him. She moaned as his experienced hands worked on her arousal. He towered over her again, kissing her amorously. Her boyfriend continued to pleasure her until she pulled away from their kiss and moaned loudly, arching her back in sheer bliss.

"Do you want me now?" He whispered to her.

"Yes." She moaned breathlessly.

He pulled away from her, holding that same devious smile. "I don't know. I don't think you're ready for me just yet."

Amy groaned, squirming with overwhelming pleasure. "Just do it."

"You mean, do you, right?"

"Sonic!"

He chuckled at her frustration. "Alright, alright. Since you clearly can't cope without me." He moved his hand away from her and he guided himself into her.

"You're such an ego mania--" She gasped as she felt him slowly thrusting in her. With a grin on his face, he grabbed her thighs. Gradually gaining speed. He watched as her eyes rolled back and her body relax against the sheets.

He had to admit, one thing he liked about pregnancy was the lack of necessity for protection. She couldn't get pregnant whilst already pregnant. God it felt so much better going bare.

"Harder..." She mutter through her bliss.

_But what about the...? Eugh, don't think about the baby now. _He did as he was told.

She moaned aloud. His name escaping her lips as he continued to romance her. He moaned with her, feeling himself becoming more light-headed the more aroused he became. He soon felt himself getting close to finishing until...

"Wait." Amy stopped him. She held a shocked expression on her face. She sat up, carefully pulling away from him in the process.

"What?"

Looking down at her stomach, her eyes fixated on her bump. His eyes reluctantly followed hers. "I felt the baby move."

"Really?" _Like really? Now? Right in the middle of sexy time? This baby really does hate me._

"Yes! Oh my gosh, Sonic. They're moving. Look!" She flattened the material around her bump, making it more visible for Sonic to see. The bump moved slightly. Great. It was bad enough that he had to see the bump, now he had to see it moving around like some alien thing?

Instant mood kill.

Still, he had to play the proud daddy. He placed his hand on the bump. At first, he felt nothing. Then the baby kicked against his hand. "Wow." He breathed out. He was mildly impressed to see the baby moving. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"No. It's kinda comforting actually. Now I know the baby is happy and moving around."

"Yeah..."

The couple stared down at the bump, occasionally witnessing it move. Sonic looked up at Amy. She looked so happy. Content. How she stared proudly at her growing bump and rubbed it gently. Her smile was infectious. He too found himself smiling at the scene.

"I guess we kinda woke the baby up." Amy giggled.

"No kidding." The damn baby was already cock blocking him and they weren't even born yet. He was no longer in the mood. If anything, he was left feeling frustrated. And with the baby now moving around, sex was going to be more difficult to enjoy. He gave her a meekly smile. "Been a while since I've done this but, uh, wanna try again some other time?"

Amy appeared to be somewhat surprised to see him retracting away from her. Nevertheless, she nodded slowly, slumping against the headboard with a sigh.

Getting up from the bed, Sonic made his way to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. Why couldn't he just be happy with the baby? Why didn't that moment fill him with joy? Disgusted with himself, he looked away and growled.

He truly loathed himself.

* * *

_Feel the energy within you. Embrace it. Become one with it. _

His chilling voice chimed through Zenith's mind through his deep meditation. He sat on the floor of his cell, legs crossed with his hands resting on his knees. His body shook as the mighty power of Chaos flowed through him. Sweat gathered across his brow, a side effect to the energy coursing through his veins. Heavy breaths left his sweat quenched lips as he tried to tolerate the power.

_Good... Good... You are improving._ The black mass left his body, causing Zenith to drop forward. He lead on the cold floor, panting harshly.

Dark Sonic turned to the criminal with a sneer across his face. "You have done well in your training. I think you're almost ready."

Zenith struggled to get up. He looked up at the demonic creature in front of him and slowed down his breathing. "It's been... Three years... How am I not... Ready?" He breathed out. Slowly, he sat back against the cell wall. "I know I can handle the power. I don't even need that much. Just enough to avenge the both of us."

Three years, Zenith had endured the excruciating training of Dark Sonic to channel chaos. His body was not designed for such power. Dark knew that. But the hatred and thirst for vengeance was delicious enough to use the boy as a pawn in his rise to power. Having a regulated energy source was just what he needed to survive all this time.

But recently, his power was becoming stronger. Much stronger. Being connected to Sonic, Dark was able to channel the blue hedgehog's negativity into his own power. And boy did he have plenty of dark energy for him to feed off of.

His mind was vulnerable. Having such negative thoughts towards his child and having his past trauma overwhelming him, Dark had him right where he needed him.

"Dark?" The green hedgehog calling to him brought him out of his thoughts. Dark turned to the man on the floor. "What more do I have to give to harness the power of Chaos?"

"It requires obedience."

"I am obedient! I mean, I can be even more obedient if I need to be." Zenith rose to his feet slowly, being vary around his master. "I've done everything you've told me to do. Show my best behaviour, kept my faith, shared my faith with the others in this place." He bowed towards the demon. "With your permission, I will tear Sonic and his team apart."

Using his power, Dark forced the hedgehog against the wall, holding out his hand in a forced grip around his neck. "I don't think you heard me correctly. I informed you that you are _almost _ready to accept the power of Chaos. Your persistence is a symbol of your disobedience. Disobedience can only lead to devastation and consequence." He opened his hand, releasing the choked Zenith. The hedgehog fell to the floor, gasping for air and holding his neck. "You still have more to learn."

"Yes... Master." Zenith coughed out.

Turning away once again from his minion, dark closed his eyes, connecting with his owner. The blue hedgehog was sat back on his bed, hands behind his head, looking down at his girlfriend's bump. Dark examined the bump too, watching the baby's occasional kicks. He smiled fondly. _That's it my child. Keep growing. We will be together soon enough._


	5. Vulnerability

Chapter Five: Vulnerability

"1...2...3...4. Good. And out... 1...2...3...4." The therapist guided the blue hedgehog with his breathing technique. Throughout the session, Sonic was instructed on how to breathe through his potential panic attacks and through the therapy treatment. To allow the memories to flow, it would cause the same emotions he had experienced during the real moment, to counteract that, he would have to focus his breathing and not lose sight of where he truly was.

The hedgehog slowly breathed in and out, feeling himself relax after every breath release. Why didn't he do this on the regular? He could imagine the sweet, sweet naps he'd have if he got this relaxed before a snooze.

"Alright Sonic. I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to think about the memories. Let them flow. If it gets too much, remember the breathing technique." Sonic nodded back at the man and laid back on the recliner. Hopefully, he wouldn't actually fall asleep. "You tell me you ran away from home after hearing your mother mention that she regretted some ritual performed on you. Where are you right now? Where is the little boy who heard that?"

He closed his eyes, allowing the particular memory to come to him. "I'm on the stairs..."

"What can you smell?"

What kind of question was that? How was he supposed to remember the smell of his home nearly twenty years ago? He remained silent, uncertain how to answer.

Noticing his reluctance to answer, the therapist looked up from his notes, to the hedgehog. "How about you describe your surroundings instead? That may be easier."

Sonic nodded back. Visual description was something he could do. "Wood. The floors and walls were made of wood." A modest little wood cabin that his dad and uncle had built for the growing family. "The stairs is located in the hall, just a few feet away from the front door. There's an archway to on the right, Leading to the living room. Another archway in the living room leads to the kitchen."

"So it's an open plan build? Is that how you were able to hear the conversation between you mother and uncle?" Again, Sonic nodded. "Try to think about the where you're sat. How are you currently feeling?"

He breathed slowly, the memory was coming to him stronger now. Thinking about his surroundings immersed him further into the memory, until he believed he was back in his old home, dashing up the stairs with his siblings until he heard his mother and uncle talking. How he tried to eavesdrop on the stairs. "I'm curious. I heard my mother sighing and I wanted to know why she was upset."

"Natural curiosity for a boy of that age. You wanted to make sure your mother was okay. So you're sat on the stairs. You hear your mother talking to your uncle. What can you hear?"

Now he remembered the smell. Homemade bread to go with the soup his mother had made for him and his siblings for lunch that day. That was right. The thought of having his mother's soup made him grumpy so he had ran off to do errands for Mrs Phampy so she'd give him cake for his good deeds. He had a sugar rush and sped around the village. That was why his mum had been calling him back and got so bothered by his antics. "She says she couldn't cope without my dad around. That she could handle Manic and Sonia, just not me."

"How does that make you feel?"

He could feel himself attempting to repel from the memory upon feeling those familiar feelings. A shaky breath escaped his lips. "It hurts..."

"Why does it hurt?"

"What's wrong with me?" His eyes squeezed shut. "Why doesn't she love me?"

Jun jotted down his questions. "Was else can you hear?"

His chest heaved. The pain in his chest becoming more apparent. He could hear his mother telling his uncle about the regrets of the ritual. The ritual he still had a thousand questions about. A ritual involving Chaos no doubt. Why? What was the ritual for? As Chuck had mentioned, without the ritual, he'd be dead. Was he sick? Had he been close to death? "She regrets my existence. She regrets performing the ritual on me and giving me this power." Choked breaths came out of him as the emotions overcame him. His own mother's resentment towards him that held him back for years, stopped him from attaining romantic feelings, left him fragile beneath his mighty ego was being brought back to life as he relived the memory.

"Sonic..." The therapist called to him soothingly. "Breathe. Remain calm. You're not in danger. You are lead down, on the recliner, in my office."

Okay breathe... Breathe. He could do that... If he wasn't experiencing these emotions against his chest. The ability to breathe was becoming a struggle yet again. He needed to run. Run like he had all those years ago. Run... Run... Run!

He shot up from the recliner, only for his legs to collapse from paralysis. He dropped to the carpet flooring below him, hyperventilating in his haste to breathe.

Jun rushed to him and laid him flat on his back. He sat beside him and soothingly Spoke to the distressed hero. "Don't fight the attack, Sonic. It'll pass. Just breathe like I taught you."

Sonic attempted to breathe slowly, feeling the compressed pain in his chest as he tried to slow down his breathing. He grunted from the pain, ignoring the burning of his chest and continued to breathe.

"Good, good. You are safe, in my office. You are not a child anymore. You have a loving partner, dear friends and you are going to be just fine."

He soon found himself calming down with the help of the reassurance from his therapist. The heavy weight in his arms and legs soon subsided and he was able to sit up. He was given a cup of water which he happily chugged back, curing his dry throat. "Guess I failed on that trip down memory lane..." Sonic mumbled. He was annoyed with himself for not being able to get passed the memory. He had battled deadly foes and yet he couldn't deal with something that happened years ago.

"On the contrary. I think you did very well today."

"Huh?" Sonic looked confused towards the man.

Doctor Juniper got up from the floor and helped the hedgehog to his feet. "Being immersed in such trauma is very disturbing for you. The fact that you did it is an achievement in itself."

He appreciated the encouragement despite his own feelings towards his efforts. He rubbed his achy chest. That attack took a good amount of energy out of him. Jun gave him a smile, gesturing the blue boy to take a seat. "Very good progress today, Sonic. The more you vision the memories, the more you will process what has happened and overcome it. I advise you to take a few moments of your time, once a day to just allow the memories to flow. It'll be a little homework for you."

That didn't sound fun. Even still, he'd do it if it meant getting over his past and being able to move on. "You got it."

"Excellent. So, same time next week?"

With any luck, he'd be able to process his troubles enough to progress further next time. "You know it, Jun." He gave the therapist a wave before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Geez, he was ready to sleep for forty years or more. Why did these panic attacks take so much energy? They didn't even last long enough to cause such depletion. He'd battled for hours before and still came out with enough energy to race around the world twice.

The mind and body were both as complex as each other.

With a yawn, the hedgehog prepared himself to bolt out of the building when he noticed a lilac bandicoot waving at him. "Huh?"

"Sorry Mr Sonic. You need to sign out before you leave." The young woman informed him, pointing to the clipboard on the desk. Ah, of course. He walked over to the desk and signed his name on the register, confirming his leave. "Thank you, sir." She appeared to be bashful as she looked down at a piece of paper in front of her. She bit her lip before gaining the confidence to look at the blue hedgehog. "By the way, Mr Sonic?"

"Please. Just call me Sonic." He insisted. He had never been keen on formalities.

She blushed slightly, honoured yet taken back by the privilege to call him by his first name. "I know this might be a little unprofessional of me but, um... I-I was wondering if you could possibly..." She breathed out nervously. "Can I have your autograph?" She asked rather quickly.

Well that was different. With everyone being obsessed with news of his baby, no one was interested in hearing about him anymore. It was tragically amazing how he became overshadowed by his child and they weren't even born yet. It was refreshing to meet a fan of his that wasn't interested in hearing about the baby. "It would be quite unprofessional of me to ignore such a request." He took the piece of paper from the receptionist and the pen from the clipboard. "What's your name?"

"Staci."

After writing an inspirational quote and signing his signature, he gave the piece of paper back to Staci. "Thank you so much! I'm such a big fan." She looked down coyly at her work. "I'm sure you hear that a lot."

"Once upon a time, maybe. Seems I've been outshined by my mini me."

She appeared to be confused. "Mini you?" She soon caught on to what he meant. "Ohhh your baby. I had read about that. Congratulations by the way." The receptionist instantly noticed his exasperated expression. "Or should I send my condolences?"

They laughed lightly. "You could. Don't let my girlfriend hear that though. Then you'd have to send flowers to my funeral."

"Would your girlfriend appreciate you getting flowers from another girl?"

The thought of Amy transforming in the dark mistress of the underworld came to mind. He chuckled. Yeah, she'd definitely kill any girl that tried to get close to him. Heck, he wasn't even sure he'd survive her wrath. "I mean, does any girl appreciate their boyfriend getting gifts from another girl?" He shrugged.

Staci flashed a flirtatious smile. "Oh, I don't know. That would depend if your girlfriend is giving you what you need."

Unfortunately for the young girl, Sonic was completely oblivious to her flirting. "You bet she is!" He smiled to himself at the thought of his girlfriend. "Heh, yeah. She's pretty great."

Realising her flirtation was ineffective, Staci returned to her platonic approach. "Guess that makes you a lucky guy then."

"The luckiest." Their conversation was brought to a stand still as soon as his communicator began to beep. He lifted the communicator close to him and clicked on the button. "Sonic here."

Speak of the devil. Amy had called him. "Hey Sonic. How did your doctor appointment go?"

"Huh?" Oh yeah. That was the excuse he was giving her for not being with her, right? "Oh. It was alright."

"So? Did they give you a diagnosis?"

"Uh... No."

He could hear her sighing. "It's rather unprofessional of them to leave you wondering what's wrong with you. Do you want me to come to the next appointment for emotional support?"

He'd love her support. Any day of the week. But to have her support in regards to why he lied about wanting the baby, the diagnosis and now therapy? He'd be needing support from the emergency services if she found out. "Ames, I told you. Stop worrying about me. You heard what the midwife said about stress."

"I know, I know. But what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't worry about you?" Good point. He chuckled in response to her question. She was such a worrier. "Anyway. I've called you because we're all going to get things for the nursery. Wanna come?"

Wasn't it a little early to be getting baby stuff? She was only 20 weeks. They still had another 20 weeks to get all of that stuff sorted. So much for going home and taking a nap too. Now he was gonna have to use even more energy to act enthusiastic about paint swatches and baby stuff. "Ames. What's the rush? We have loads of time to get all of that stuff."

"Sonic. We only have twenty weeks left! We have so much to do and so much to get!" He could hear her panting frequently on the other side of the communicator. "I'm getting stressed just thinking about it."

"Amy, chill. You know we've got this." He rolled his eyes towards Staci who girlishly laughed at his antics. "Alright, I'll be right there. Where are you guys anyway?"

His girlfriend was silent for a rather long period of time. Odd. Did he lose connection? "Ames?" He looked at the screen. Strange, he was still connected with her. "Amy?"

"Huh?" She finally answered.

"There you are. I thought you lost signal. Where are you?"

"Metropolis Megastore."

"Be there in a sec!" He was just about to hang up when he thought to share his affection to her. "I love you."

"Yeah." Her voice sounding bitter. She immediately ended the call, surprising the blue hedgehog. He sighed, bringing his hand back to his side.

Staci gave him a look of sympathy. "Looks like you got a lot on your plate."

"Tell me about it. Still, happy wife, happy life... or girlfriend in this case."

"And what about you? Are you happy?"

Was she actually a receptionist or a therapist? Asking such personal questions. He only just met her. Taken back by her question, he didn't answer her. She gave him a small smile. "If you ever need someone to be there for you. Someone to talk to, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Staci. Catch ya later. Same time next week." He waved as he shot out of the door, creating a gust of wind in his wake.

The bandicoot gasped after seeing the hedgehog's speed first hand. Giggling to herself, she stared down at Sonic's signed autograph and swooned against her chair.

* * *

Standing outside the cities megastore, Amy stood amongst her friends, impatiently waiting for Sonic. Unbeknownst to her friends, she was enraged. Whilst talking to Sonic through the communicator, he heard a girl. Not just any girl, a fangirl. A flirting fangirl.

How did she know? Experience and personal perspective. As Sonic's number one fan, she had used the same flirtatious, girly giggling as part of her charm. She doubted that was how she finally got Sonic's attention but damn that girl for trying to flirt with her man.

Everybody knew she and Sonic were a thing. They were a renowned power couple and with the baby on the way, the paparazzi knew them as the ideal family.

So why was this homewrecker making moves on Sonic?

What was he even doing within inches of another girl? She wasn't exactly one to go crazy over Sonic talking to other females. No, she had moved on from that. But when her boyfriend was currently neglecting her physical needs and making her feel like a blimp, she could only let her mind wonder the possibilities.

He was so dead.

No. She wasn't going to let her suspicions ruin her day. Stress wasn't good for the baby either. New plan: She'd continue to get the things they needed for the nursery and then hammer him to a pulp when they got home.

"Amy?" Tails noticed the pink hedgehog's wrinkled face as the tension in her brow was strong. "You alright?"

She looked towards the teen, her face easing ever so slightly. "Peachy..." Her tone, vex. She looked away, continuing to wait for her boyfriend.

The team looked at one another, silently questioning what had happened to the pregnant hedgehog's cheery mood on the way to the store. She looked ready to destroy everything. Maybe it was a hormone thing?

Noticing the blue streak weaving through the traffic in the distance, Amy turned on her heel. "He's here now. I'm going in."

Her friends turned to her, remaining clueless. "You're not gonna wait for Sonic?" Silver asked her.

She looked over her shoulder. "I _just __said _I'm going in. If I say I'm _going in, _that means I'm going in!" She growled, storming into the store.

"Damn. This better be the only time she's pregnant." Knuckles said.

"Either that or we head on vacation as soon as she announces the next baby." Rouge added.

Sonic halted in front of his friends. "Hey guys!" He waved. He looked around at the group, instantly noticing his missing girlfriend. "Uh... Where's Amy?"

"Storming through the store." Knuckles answered the blue hedgehog.

Sonic looked exasperated towards the ground. "In a happy, giddy way or bringer of death kind of way?"

"Death bringer."

Strange. She was just cheerfully talking him on the communicator. Well, until he thought he lost signal. Then she turned bitter. What happened in those mere seconds to get her so riled up? He sped into the store, searching for his girlfriend. He soon found her looking at colour swatches. "There you are." She didn't acknowledge him. In fact, he was sure he was getting the silent treatment. He approached with caution. "Everything okay?"

"Peachy. Oh so peachy." She responded, continuing to look through the various colours. She picked out a swatch containing various shades of orange. One being peach. She pointed to it and showed it to Sonic. "We should paint the nursery in peach. That way I can keep believing everything is just peachy!" She was holding back her angry in her voice. She kept telling herself to not assume and explode but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her.

He backed away slightly. "Whoa. Chill out, Amy. What's wrong?"

She placed the colour swatches back and continued to walk down the isles. Sonic shortly followed. "Wrong? Wrong with who, exactly? What's wrong with me?" She stopped, turning to her boyfriend. "Yes. That is a good question. What is wrong with me, Sonic?"

Amy was acting hysterically, all the while keeping her voice at a minimum to not attract attention. Sonic was completely baffled by her behaviour. "Nothing's wrong with you..."

"Oh. So is that why you're going behind my back, getting your thrills from some other girl?" She walked towards him, face fit to kill. "Who is she, Sonic?"

He was baffled. She was accusing him of cheating? There was no way he would do that to her. "Where is this coming from?"

She scoffed, shaking her head before staring straight into his eyes. "I heard her through the communicator, Sonic. That little giggle coming from some homewrecking hussy!"

Wait? Staci? Oh that made sense... But oh. Staci, the receptionist from his therapist's office? He couldn't mention that. "Ohh, you mean the receptionist from the hospital. We got to talking. She's a fan of mine."

His story was enough to make her calm down slightly. She still didn't believe him however. "Which department? I want to meet her myself."

Damnit. "Ames. I'm being honest with ya. Come on. Don't you trust me?" He mentally slapped himself for asking for her faith in him after lying. It was partly true at least.

She crossed her arms. "How can I believe you when you hardly touch me anymore? You go for weeks without touching me, you're always going for these _appointments_ at the hospital and now I hear some girl on your communicator? What do you expect me to think?" Her eyes glazed as the tears began to form. "You tell me you love me and you won't even look twice at me anymore. I feel like you're repulsed by me now. If you don't find me attractive during pregnancy then just tell me. Don't leave me questioning what I've done wrong and whether you're cheating or not." The tears streamed down her cheeks.

The blue hedgehog pulled the girl into a hug, pressing her against him lightly. "I would never cheat on you. I nearly lost you before. I don't want you to lose you again." He brought his hands to her bump, wanting her to feel confident with her new and temporary body. "I'm sorry for making you feel like worthless. I've just been trying to get my head around being a dad, you know? Guess it's been making me lose sense of the bigger picture."

"I know it's a lot to take in but we can do this together. I'm your partner. You don't have to hide things from me. Whatever you're struggling with, I'll support you. Just like you support me." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.

She was right. He needed to stop trying to protect her and start reaching out for her. In the midst of his lies, he was already losing her to his neglect, making her paranoid and unloved.

He looked down at his hands on her small bump. Hm, it wasn't so bad after all. He still didn't get a wave of pride or excitement from knowing his baby was in there but he didn't feel himself getting anxious from touching it or looking. Was that because of the therapy session?

And if he wasn't feeling nervous about seeing or touching the bump, maybe... "Hey Ames?"

"Hmm?"

"This is a pretty big store. Think we could find a place to...?"

She gasped. "Sonic!" She looked around, blushing madly. "You're so bad!" She giggled.

He smirked, leaning towards her to whisper in her ear. "You know you want to."

His whispers of enticement sent a shiver down her spine. Biting her lip, she looked around once more before leading him down the isle and to another area of the store.

Soon, he'd come clean about his troubles. For now, he needed to make sure she felt secure and loved in their relationship.

Only then, would she possibly consider his reasoning.

* * *

With both hands cuffed to the table in front of him, Zenith sat up straight, intently watching his offender manager scanning through his file. Finally, the countless good behaviour he had kept up over the years had landed him a chance for probation. He was to be released within four weeks. Until then, he was given regular meetings to ensure he fully understood his conditions when he was out in the world.

"So. Here we are again." The wolf in uniform gave him a brief smile. "Your release date is getting closer. As you already know, we need to discuss exactly what must be done after your release." He lifted the document with the following conditions. "You are not to make contact with Miss Amy Rose. You are not to make contact with any members of the Freedom Fighters or the staff at Unit to ensure contact with Miss Amy Rose. You will refrain from pursuing Miss Amy Rose or breaching the restraining order against you. You must return for regular meetings with myself and also partake in behavial therapy." His manager placed the file on the table and looked at the criminal. "Do you accept these conditions?"

Zenith remained calm and collected as he spoke. "I solumnly swear to abide by my conditions. I have seen the error of my ways and through the guidance of mighty Chaos, I shall begin a new life as a disciple."

"I see you are taking this new religion of yours quite seriously. Well done." Raising from his seat, he gestured for the officers standing outside the door to enter the room and take Zenith back to his cell. "Just two more meetings with me and you'll be a free man. Congratulations Mr Thorn."

"May Chaos guide you, my good man." Zenith held a big smile on his face as the officers released him from the table and lead him back to his cell. Upon arriving, the officers removed his cuffs and guided the green hedgehog into his cell. They locked the cell door and left the criminal alone.

A dark mass formed in front of him. "You took the oath?" Dark questioned the hedgehog.

Zenith nodded. "I did just what you told me to do. We'll be released in four weeks from now."

Dark remained emotionless, his brows slowly furrowed. "If our plans to disband Sonic and that pink hedgehog are to work, we must act swiftly."

The green hedgehog gulped. "I'm sorry, master. The timing is out of my power." He knelt before the demon. "Forgive me."

Four weeks? That couldn't do. While Sonic's mind was becoming more vulnerable via the visual trauma, he also held a glimmer of hope in his recovery. Within those weeks, he would become stronger and far too strong willed to be possessed.

Dark began to think. With lack of time on their hands, their plan of action would have to be less strategic, yet enough to tear the couple apart. Thinking back to his previous meditation session, connecting with Sonic, he was able to see Staci and the scene between Amy and Sonic. He sneered at his thoughts. "It seems we have a sloppy opportunity in our grasp. It's not what we intended but the results will be delicious."

Zenith raised himself up from the floor and looked up at the demon. As Dark began to menacingly laugh, Zenith warily joined in, uncertain of his intentions.

The countdown had begun. Soon, Sonic would be under his thrall and together with his child, they would have the world under their control.


	6. Enter Darkness

**AN: Warning. Scenes of gore ahead.**

* * *

Chapter Six: Enter Darkness

"Oh I love it!" Amy teared up as she looked around the nursery.

The walls were painted white with small, grey polka dots, matching the light grey carpet. The decorations consisted of white and grey accessories: white nursery furniture and rocking chair with grey shelves, curtains, picture frames and rug. The white blanket the couple had bought for their newborn sat in the cot, ready to taken to the hospital when the time was right.

"Good job, guys." Sonic praised his friends. The team effort was highly appreciated. With his appointments with his therapist and dealing with the aftermath of said appointments, his progress on decorating singlehandedly was a slow process. And with Amy insisting that they get the baby things out of the way, calling on his trusty pals for help was his best option.

Amy clapped excitedly. "Thank you so much, you guys. I'm sure our little angel will love it as much as we do."

Sonic looked around, pleased with his work as well as the team's. "Yeah, it's pretty great. Though it could use a little colour. When are we finding out what we're having anyway? Didn't you say you wanted some cake thingy and a, uh, baby bath?"

"Sonic, it's a baby shower." Amy corrected him. She turned to her girl friends with a look of expectancy. "You should be asking them anyway." Rouge, Blaze and Cream were flabbergasted. They were supposed to be organising the baby shower? "Don't worry girls. I won't pry. But if you could let me know what date you've booked the venue for, that would be great. I can't wait anymore!" She was giddy on the spot. The girls faked their smiles, nodding along with the pregnant hedgehog. "Great! Anyway, I'm starved. Let's eat!" The pink girl gestured for everyone to follow her to go and get some lunch.

Watching Amy leave the room, Sonic turned to the girls, chuckling at their panicked expressions. "Somethin' tells me you guys had no clue about the baby shower."

"She didn't tell us that **we** had to organise it!" Rouge replied in their defense.

"Don't worry, girls. I know just how to solve this." He turned to his male friends with a smirk on his face. "These guys will help ya."

Knuckles, Tails and Silver gawped at the blue hedgehog. "There's no way I'm gonna spend my time arranging a pointless party for a baby who isn't gonna know or care about what's happening." Knuckles protested.

"What if I told you it was for me?"

"How does that make the proposal any better?" Silver questioned.

Sonic frowned. "Okay. But Amy is expecting a baby shower and nobody wants to see her get upset."

His friends looked at one another, defeated by the hedgehog's logic. Knuckles crossed his arms, still not convinced. "What are you going to be doing exactly?"

"Me? Oh no. This is a surprise for me too so I'm afraid I can't help you." He sneered as his friends glared at him. "What? It's technically my party too. Like a congratulations to my baby making abilities."

"Any idiot can make a baby. It takes a really special idiot to get a girl pregnant while using protection." Knuckles nodded his head as a matter of factly.

The blue leader gave the echidna a deadly gaze before he slowly turned and walked towards the door. "And it takes an imbecile to insult the guy who impregnated the bringer of death. I'll let Amy know the baby shower's in two weeks from now. Good luck!" He zipped out of the room to find Amy.

The team turned to the echidna, gazes ready to kill. Knuckles awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his head bashfully smiling towards them.

* * *

Walking down the hall with two officers escorting him, Zenith held his head high as he passed the various cells containing his fellow criminals. This was the final time he would have to walk down this hall. The last time he would have to be remain closed off within four walls.

Today was his day of freedom.

He had been blessed by Chaos. Granting him his freedom and vengeance. Sonic and his pals had lived merrily for too long. Moving on with their lives without a mere thought of what they did to him. Especially Sonic.

Five. Five different facial reconstructive surgeries he had to bare in order to fix the damage Sonic had inflicted on him. And the pain? Oh he couldn't forget that excruciating pain. Three years on and the thought of the pain brought it all back. Oh yes, Sonic was going to pay the most.

And Amy. His heart skipped a beat automatically. Emotions still ran high for his beloved. He could easily forgive her. She was simply weak was all. Too mesmerised by that so called heart throb of a hero to recognise what she truly wanted. She wanted a real man. A man ready to worship her, give her a everything she always wanted and **never** took her for granted. He could give her that and more. She just needed to see pass Sonic's good looks.

Once he had his freedom and the power of Chaos at his disposal, his beautiful rose would see that she deserved better.

He was taken back into the office for his final meeting to once again to confirm that he understood the conditions he had to live with. The officers guided him to the table, making him sit down before cuffing him to the table. Zenith obliged, not wanting to ruin his chances of freedom. He waited patiently for his offender manager to arrive.

The wolf appeared, tipping his hat towards the hedgehog. "Ah, Zenith. Ready for your day of freedom?" He sat opposite from Zenith, holding his file in hand.

"I thank Chaos for this opportunity." He smiled.

"Gotta give yourself some credit. You've become a better man after all these years inside. You should be proud of yourself." He opened the file and placed it on the table. "Right then, I won't keep you here for long. I'm sure you want to get out of here and enjoy that earned freedom." He looked down at the document of his commitments and read them out. "You are not to make contact with Miss Amy Rose. You are not to make contact with any members of the Freedom Fighters or the staff at Unit to ensure contact with Miss Amy Rose. You will refrain from pursuing Miss Amy Rose or breaching the restraining order against you. You must return for regular meetings with myself and also partake in behavial therapy." His manager placed the file on the table and looked at the criminal. "Do you accept these conditions?"

As he had done in the meetings prior, he nodded and gave his declaration. "I give my word to live within these conditions and strive to live a humble life under the guidance of mighty Chaos. May I become a worthy disciple."

His offending manager smiled and nodded in response to his oath. Gesturing for the officers to free the hedgehog from the table, he gathered the documents and held them at his side. "Congratulations Mr Thorn. I hope your life of servitude to Chaos brings you everything you've always wanted."

"I hope so too." Zenith gave a genuine smile, laced with hidden malice.

The officers began the process of his release. Searching his belongings he had came in with, giving him a final strip search, scanning his documents and finally leading him to the main gates.

The gates opened up for him. He took a moment to look up at the sky. It was more vibrant than he remembered. The sky appeared more grey and gloomy whenever he was in the prison court yard. Was this a beautiful greeting from his God?

He took his first steps out of the prison. Wow. The world was even more beautiful than he remembered. The rich green of the nearby trees. How the leaves rustled gently in the cool breeze, music to his ears. His second chance of life gave him a sense of appreciation, satisfaction for the smaller things.

It was almost a shame he didn't have more time to appreciate it all some more.

Turning back a final time to the prison, he smiled menacingly before walking off into the distance. Now his real destiny could unfold.

* * *

His journey lead him to the familiar park he had first engaged in conversation with the beautiful rose. Not much about the park had changed. Same place, different people. He breathed in the scent of floral aroma that travelled in the breeze. Sweet. Just like his beautiful rose.

He wandered through the park, contently enjoying the peaceful atmosphere around him. Just as it had been three years ago when he met her in person. Oh his sweet rose. How wilted she had looked thanks to that blue rat. She was sat on the bench, lonely, heartbroken, seeking reassurance of a brighter day. And there he was, the sunlight that bought the rose back in bloom.

Where was that bench again? He continued down the pathway. From what he could remember, it was located in between flower beds. Pink and red tulips, bluebells and daisies and yellow roses. Their own splendour remained overshadowed by Amy's own magnificence. Eventually, he found the bench. Flowers minorly in bloom. He blamed the missing rose for their insufficient appearance.

Taking a seat on the bench, he felt the butterflies in his stomach, remembering her sat exactly where he was. He could almost imagine her next to him, talking about that no good hedgehog and his lying ways. He brought her on their first date just after their conversation. It was a dream come true.

His daydreams were short lived when the black mass of his master appeared next to him on the bench. "Enjoying your freedom, Zenith?" He looked around the park, reclining back against the bench. "Nice place. I sense it has a particular meaning to you. Especially this bench." He looked back at Zenith. "Remind you of her?"

Zenith looked around frantically. "No can see you, can they?"

Dark snickered. "Does that worry you?"

The green hedgehog became paranoid, looking in every direction. "Do you want to get caught?!"

"Say that louder."

"Are you insane?!"

The passersby gave the green hedgehog confused and wary expressions as they hurried on by. Baffled, the hedgehog sat back against the bench. Dark laughed. "No. They can't see me." His master's mocking laugh made him curse under his breath. This only gave Dark satisfaction. "Mmm. You spoil me with this bitterness of yours." He could sense Zenith feeling stupid for his anger. He smirked. Getting up from the bench, Dark turned to green boy. "Come. We have work to do."

"Where are we going?"

Dark sneered as he faded into black smog and slipped into Zenith. The hedgehog struggled momentarily until the demon took over his body. "Before we can achieve our goal. We need somewhere to call home." He grinned menacingly.

Getting up from the bench, the possessed Zenith dashed off into the city, racing to the darker side of town.

* * *

Located on the outskirts of the city was an array of abandoned factories. Old factories forgotten in history and replaced by modern technology. The buildings were weather worn, covered in rust and moss. Chipped walls and broken windows, decorated with graffiti. The sunlight shunned the area, leaving it to the gloom under the clouds.

Zenith smiled up at the deserted factory. The perfect place for their hideout. He approached the biggest factory, choosing it as the optimal refuge. Leaping up the wall, the possessed hedgehog ran up to the top floor, jumping through the slightly broken window and landing with a roll. The glass scattered around him.

"What was that?" A voice came from below him.

Zenith stood up, looking through the broken floorboards. He smirked. "Hm. Perhaps this place isn't deserted after all." Jumping down from the broken edge, Zenith landed on the bottom floor, creating a dust cloud which blinded and choked his foes. "Pleasure to meet you, ladies."

The dust cloud slowly faded. The group of ruffians witnessed the hedgehog appear from the dust. Their leader stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"I am your new leader. You may call me Dark. Or Zenith... Scratch that, call me Dark Zenith." He rubbed his chin, getting lost in thought. "No... Darkness, at it's Zenith. Darknith? Zenark? Darnith?" He questioned his own choice of names, ignoring the approaching gang.

The leader stood over him. A beastly bull. Tall, hench and adorned in a leather jacket. Attached to the front of his jacket was a long, thick chain. Zenith snapped out of his thoughts and looked the chief up and down. "You picked the wrong guy to fuck with." The bull leaned down in front of the hedgehog, getting close to his face as an act of intimidation.

Zenith chuckled, flashing a sinister grin. "That's funny." He tickled the bull's chin. "I was gonna say the exact same thing to you." He yanked on the chain on the leader's jacket and ran up the bull's chest. He circled the chain around the bull's neck and landed on the ground. With the end of the chain in hand, Zenith pulled the chain hard, choking the leader. He used his power over chaos to telekinetically hold the chain. He turned to the leader's gang, taunting them. "C'mon!"

All eight thugs ran towards him at all angles. The green hedgehog used chaos burst, vanishing from the middle of the gang and reappearing above them, on the second floor.

"Where did he go?!"

"He's up there, look!"

The thugs looked up at the possessed hedgehog before rushing up the rusty stairs. They charged at Zenith, all balling their fists to attack. Zenith sent a chaos blast their way, knocking the men back to the lower floor. They grunted as they hit the ground. Zenith jumped down, landing on his feet. "You're not all done yet, surely?"

A member staggered to his feet, pulling out a knife from his jacket. He ran towards the hedgehog and wielded the knife in a haste, slashing in all directions. Zenith kicked the knife out of the guy's hand and into the air. In swift motion, he grabbed the knife and slashed the thug's neck. He struggled, clinging to his neck in shock as he collapsed to the ground.

Horrified, the gang members scurried on their feet and ran to get their weapons: bat, machete, guns and more knives. They stood in a row, now feeling confident in taking him on. "Oh~" Zenith chortled. "This just got more interesting."

The melee wielding thugs charged at him. One threw knives towards the green hedgehog. Zenith used chaos energy to deflect the knives and project them back at the enemy. The knives penetrated the man's eyes, killing him instantly.

Another member charged at him with a bat, swinging with force. The hedgehog dodged with ease. He noticed bullets heading his way. Acting quickly, he knocked the bat out of the ruffian's hands and held it to his neck. He turned the man towards the bullets, using him as a shield. They pierced his body, making him howl out in pain. Feeling the man go limb against the bat, Zenith dropped him and the weapon.

The machete came slashing down, inches away from his face. Zenith frowned at the thug, tutting in disapproval. "You'll hurt somebody with that." He chuckled menacingly as he effortlessly dodged the man's attacks. Growing impatient of the man's persistent failure to stab him, he created a chaos spear, sending it through the guy's heart. The man gasped loudly before succumbing to an instant death. He picked up the weapon and admired it. "This is a pretty fine weapon."

The four remaining members shakingly held their guns, intensely watching the mad hedgehog slowly approach them with the machete in hand. His chilling smile scarred their minds as Zenith got closer. They fired at him, desperate to save themselves. Unfortunately for them, he deflected the bullets with his weapon. Using chaos burst again, he vanished.

"Oh god. Where the fuck is he?!"

"Don't let your guard down!" The men span around, looking in every direction for the demon possessed hedgehog. Zenith appeared behind one of the gun wielders and sliced off the man's head in a clean cut. Blood spattered up from the mans body before it slumped to the ground.

The blood splattered against his fur, dampening him. Zenith laugh maliciously as he span around in the bloody rain.

"No!" Cried another gang member. He fired frequently towards Zenith. The hedgehog dipped backwards, avoiding the gunfire. He threw the machete towards his foe. The machete span towards him, landing in the centre of his forehead.

"Bulleye! 50 points!" He cheered. More bullets came firing his way. Zenith flipped out of the way, landing behind one of the last gunmen, he used his strength to snap the man's neck. Grabbing the gun out of the fallen gang members hand, he turned towards the last thug and aimed. The man was running towards him, holding out his gun, ready to shoot. Zenith fired the shot, landing in the man's forehead. He smiled as he watched the man fall backwards.

Satisfied with his bloodshed, Zenith casually walked around the ground floor. It was a rather vast factory. Debris and dust decorated the area. Pillars stood on either side of the factory, holding the broken floors and railings above. Upon further inspection, he found a secluded area at the back, covered by ragged drapes. Pulling back the old fabric, he found the living space of the now fallen gang. Hammocks for the members and a sheetless bed for the leader. Minimalistic, yet it was enough.

He could hear rustling echoing in the factory. A chain rustling. Peeking his head through the drapes, he saw the bull staggering to his feet, wheezing heavily as he ripped the chains off his neck. Zenith smirked. "Ready for round two, I see?"

Using chaos burst, Zenith vanished, appearing near the thug with the machete stuck in his skull. He yanked the weapon out and charged at the bull. The bull saw the bloodstained hedgehog charging at him. Blowing smoke from his nose, he retaliated the charge, bellowing out a battle cry.

The hedgehog leaped into the air, using chaos control to propell himself faster towards the bull. He gripped onto the machete, swinging the weapon back before bringing it down on the leader's neck, beheading him. Blood heavily sprouted from his headless body, covering the green hedgehog in more blood.

"Well that was fun. Wouldn't you agree, Zenith?" Dark came out of the hedgehog. Zenith staggered back, gaining conscious as if he were asleep.

"Where--" The hedgehog looked around the factory, witnessing the dead bodies. He leapt back in shock, bumping into the head of the leader. "Aaah! W-what--" He held his stomach as he felt the contents of his stomach came out onto the floor. "What the hell happened?!"

Dark looked away in disgust. "Now that is disgusting."

"They're... They... Wh--" Zenith was bewildered by the scene. He looked around again at the dead bodies and then back to the demon. "Y-you." He swallowed hard. "You did this?"

The demon smirked. "What? Me? Nah." He lied, tapping the young man's shoulder. "_You_ did this. All that training has finally paid off." He gave him a small smile. "You did well."

Zenith stuttered in shock. "I-I... I." He did this? Dark said it was the result of his training. Was this the power of chaos? All that power and he couldn't even remember doing any of it?

And what made it worse? He had actually kill someone. Many people in fact. He wasn't claiming to be innocent but murder?

Dark patted Zenith's shoulder one more time. "I'm gonna scope out the area. Get some research done. You can get rid of these bodies."

"G-get rid?"

"Yeah. Burn them, bury them. Whichever. Just don't leave 'em lying around. They'll cause a stench in no time. Oh, and don't forget to search their bodies beforehand. One of them is bound to have some rings on them."

Dark faded into black smog and flew out one of the broken windows. Zenith turned to the dead bodies, feeling the need to puke once more.

* * *

"You did what?!" Sonic yelled into his home phone. "You didn't think to let us know that you released that creep _before _you released him?"

"We have been trying to contact you and Miss Rose in regards to Mr Thorn's release." An officer spoke on the other side of the phone.

Sonic tried to keep himself calm whilst on the phone. "He was sentenced for six years, with a restraining order. Why are you telling me, after three years, that you've released him?!"

"Zenith has been released on good behaviour. As part of his probation, he has accepted his conditions to not contact you or Miss Rose, including the restraining order. He's changed his life around. He's a follower of Chaos."

Sonic scoffed. "Yeah sure. And I've been elected King of the Jurundra."

"Congratulations Mr Hedgehog."

He groaned. "You know what? Forget it! Thanks for nothing." He slammed the home phone down and growl loudly in frustration. His irriation alerted his pregnant girlfriend. Amy came rushing into the living room, concerned and worried to see her lover so angry.

"Sonic?" She approached him and rested her hand against his cheek. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

The blue leader sighed, wrapping his arms around her. He knew he couldn't hide something like this from her. She would be safer knowing about her stalker's release than to be none the wiser. He rested his head against hers. "They've released Zenith..."

She moved away from him with fear across her face. She held her bump protectively. "W-what? Why?"

"They said they released him on good behaviour."

"N-no! What kind of bullshit is that?!" She looked down at her bump. "They had no right! What about the baby?!"

Sonic reached for her hand and pulled her back into his arms. "I'll protect you both, I promise. We'll just have to be more careful is all. Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

His reassuring words seemed to sooth her slightly. Sighing heavily, she rested her head against his chest. "I hope so."

He kissed the top of her head and held her. As determined as he was to protect her and the baby, he couldn't help but feel the impending storm awaiting them.


	7. The Plan

Chapter Seven: The Plan

With the knowledge of Zenith's release, the couple had become more cautious. Sonic kept Amy close to him at all times. He even went as far as to staying awake whilst she slept to watch over her in the night. His trusty friends, Tails and Knuckles were on hand as her bodyguards when Sonic's need for sleep became dire. It was definitely not good for his psyche. Especially when he was still in the process of his treatment. But for Amy, he would sacrifice whatever he had to to ensure her safety and the safety of the baby.

Yes, he was genuinely concerned for his child. Thanks to doctor Juniper and his therapy, Sonic was seeing his child in a new light. He could tolerate the baby talks, the growing bump and his responsibilities towards being a dad as well as a partner. It wasn't the pride or love he was hoping for but he was getting there.

It was just a shame he was feeling it now, in the midst of a threat.

Speaking of therapy, his appointment was in 20 minutes. After that, he was supposed to be at the baby shower. As long as Tails and Knuckles could keep Amy safe for an hour, he'd be back by her side and they could try and have a good time at the baby shower. And they'd finally find out what if they were having a boy or girl. Hopefully that would bring them a little happiness amongst this stress.

Walking down the stairs, Sonic walked over to his girlfriend who sat on the loveseat, opposite Tails. The pair were eating cake and watching TV. "Alright, time to go to my doctor's appointment. Are you gonna be alright?"

Amy looked up at her boyfriend and frowned. "Can't I just come with you? Surely I'll be safer if I'm near you."

That was true. It would also help with his anxiety if she was near too. Though he still hadn't gotten round to telling her everything and with everything happening with Zenith, she didn't need that added stress. "It's best that you stay inside. We don't need to draw any attention to you. Besides, Knuckles will be here soon. He'll knock that guy into next week if he dared to show up."

"Uh. Knuckles isn't coming." Tails awkwardly stated.

Sonic blinked. "Why not?"

"He just said he couldn't make it. But I'm here! I'm sure it'll be fine."

He wasn't doubting his best friend's abilities but without the brawn, he wasn't entirely confident in Amy's protection. "You sure you'll be alright Tails?"

Tails could sense his lack of trust in his abilities. "I even bought my defenses." He held up a remote. "All I have to do is click this button and a forcefield will appear to protect us."

Sonic nodded in approval. "Alright. I leave my life in your hands, buddy." He knelt down next to his girlfriend, taking her hand in his. "Call me if it's an emergency." She nodded in response. He kissed her briefly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

He looked down at the bump with a small smile. "And you. You need to keep your mother smiling, alright?" He spoke to his child, brushing his hand over her stomach. The baby kicked against his hand. Amy giggled. "You see, they listen to me already." He smiled at his girlfriend. He stood up and made his way to the front door. "I'll be back in no time." He reassured them. He darted out the door and raced down the path towards the city. The sooner he got back to Amy, the better.

* * *

Hidden behind a newspaper, Zenith and Dark waited patiently near to the therapy office for Sonic to arrive. With the blue hedgehog away from Amy and left in a moment of vulnerability, this was the perfect opportunity to spring their attack.

_"You remember what to do, don't you?" _Dark's voice echoed through the green hedgehog's mind.

_"Yes Master."_

_"And you know what to do with this power I am giving you?"_

_"Yes Master. I won't let you down."_

Dark was hesitant in offering his power to his minion. He was emotional. Too emotional to hold such power. Even a little bit. Trusting him to keep Amy captive whilst he worked his own magic was like trusting a baby with an antique collection.

Still, the show must go on.

Catching sight of the blue hedgehog zipping into the building, Zenith smirked. "Time to play, Z." Dark left Zenith body. "Chaos Control." He transferred his power into the hedgehog. Zenith felt the rush of the power coursing through him. It was everything he imagined and more. Enpowering, enlightening, his redemption. He balled his fists at the pleasurable sensation. Dark got close to Zenith, intimidating the young man. "Don't. Hurt. Her." He warned him. Didn't this demon despise that girl? Why was he protecting her? And hurt his rose? No... Never. Maybe once or twice before but he was only training her to be the strongest she could be. He was doing her a favour.

Nevertheless, Zenith nodded at his master. Using his new powers, the green hedgehog ran at superspeed to Amy's house. It had been too long without seeing his beloved. It was about time he saw his precious rose again.

* * *

Lurking in the vents above the blue hedgehog and therapist, Dark waited for the perfect opportunity to get to Sonic. The ideal chance was during his flashbacks. However, if he were to achieve his possession without alerting the man opposite him, he would have to leave it until the end.

"And breathe... 2, 3, 4. Good. Well done, Sonic." Jun nodded as he counted. The hedgehog exhaled, resting back on the recliner, continuing his breathing. "You have done well, Sonic. Really well. Your ability to control yourself has gotten much better. I'd say you've nearly completed your treatment. What do you think?"

Sonic smiled. He was pretty impressed with himself. Six weeks ago, he could barely handle seeing his childhood. Now, he could allow the memories to flow freely without so much of a jitter. There were still questions left unanswered. A whole chapter that needed to be explained in his life. But for now, that part of his life was to be put on hold so he could focus on his lover and his child.

And boy did it feel good to think of his baby as a baby. No more parasitic leech growing in his girlfriend. "I feel pretty good, doc."

Juniper smiled back at the hedgehog. "I'm glad. I think we should have another session or two to talk about coping techniques and finding your happy place. Shall we say... Same time next week?"

"That is kinda the jist now." He gave the therapist a wave as he walked towards the door. Siezing his opportunity, Dark reappeared from the air vent and travelled into Sonic. The hedgehog struggled for a moment before Dark took over.

"Hello again, Sonic. I hope you've missed me." Dark mumbled to himself. He smirked as he left the room.

Walking over to the reception desk, Dark leaned over and waited for Staci to look up from her work. Soon, she sensed someone standing over her. Looking up, she instantly smiled at the familiar face. "Oh hello, Sonic. How are you?"

"Im good. Just enjoying the view." He gave her a grin.

She was in awe, blushing deeply at his comment. Was he flirting with her? "Aren't taken men supposed to keep their eyes on their significant other?" An uncontrollable smile laced her glossy lips.

"Hmm, maybe. But when a beauty as significant as you in my sights, it would be wrong to look away."

Speechless. Completely speechless. Her dreams were coming true. Sonic the hedgehog was coming onto her. He was flirting with her. He called her a beauty. He couldn't even look away! Oh this was a dream, surely?

Jun walked towards the reception desk with a lunchbox in hand. He approached the desk, placing his food on the desk whilst he signed his name out the building. "Have anything planned for lunch, Staci?" Deciding to partake in small talk.

Staci gave Sonic a quick glance before looking back at doctor Juniper. "Uh, no. Not particularly."

The therapist looked over to Sonic. "And you, Sonic? Anything interesting for the afternoon?"

Sonic pretended to look down at his communicator. "I've got time to spare." His eyes returned to the bandicoot momentarily.

"Well, whatever it is you plan to do, I hope you enjoy yourself." He placed the clipboard back on the desk and collected his lunchbox. "Be sure to lock up before you head for lunch." He instructed the young receptionist before leaving the office.

How conveniently perfect. Sonic sniggered as he watched the therapist leave. He turned back to the receptionist with a huge smile on his face. "So. That means you're free?"

"For an hour. But yes. Why?"

He leaned over the desk, getting close to her. "They say you can look but can't touch. But I was never one for rules."

She giggled, leaning forward slightly until they were inches apart. "What makes you think I'll let you touch me?"

"The want in your eyes." He whispered before closing the gap between their lips. He kissed her longingly. Holding back such lustful intent just enough for her to return the desire. Just as he predicted, she eagerly accepted his advances. With the plan in motion, he just needed Zenith to stick to his task.

* * *

Fixing her hair in the mirror, Amy prepared herself for the baby shower. She was adorned in white a ivory silk georgette gown with a deep v neckline and long silk sleeves. A fitted band sat above her bump which was covered by the long flowing skirt.

The style was classic and pure. A style she believed described her adored child and wanting to be unbiased, white would be the neutral colour she was going for until she found out what they were having.

Which was supposed to be very soon. They were supposed to leave for the baby shower in at least an hour. Sonic's appointment was probably still happening as of now. But with Zenith being a current threat to look out for, she really wished he had just cancelled his appointment or just let her tag along. What was so special about these appointments that stopped her from offering her support?

With a sigh, she shook her head, ridding any ill thoughts from her mind. This was supposed to be a day of happiness for her and Sonic. They'd finally find out the gender and they could begin thinking of names for their little angel. There was no space for worry right now.

Tails appeared by the door frame, checking in on the mother to be for the 4th time. "Hey. You all dressed now?"

Amy looked at the fox through the mirror. "That's an odd question to ask a girl _after _you enter the room."

The teenager blushed deeply. "Uh, no! I didn't mean--"

She couldn't help but giggle at his embarrassed expression. "I'm only joking, Tails. As you can see, I am fully dressed." She got up from her dressing table and turned to face her lover's best friend. "How do I look?"

"Great! Though I thought white was only worn at weddings?"

She looked down at her dress. "Maybe. But I want to represent the baby at the baby shower. White is for purity. Therefore, I want to look pure. But if Sonic wants to turn the baby shower into a mini wedding ceremony, I'm all the more ready for it."

Tails could only hopelessly smile at her fantasies. As mature as she was now compared to her younger self, that inner fan girl of Sonic's seemed to still remain.

**_Ding Dong._**

The sound of the doorbell alarmed the pair. They remained silent, neither daring to move. Sonic wasn't due back for awhile yet so it definitely wasn't him. That and he wouldn't need to ring his own doorbell. Who would it be?

"Stay here. I'll check it out." Tails told the pregnant woman. He left her in the bedroom while he went to investigate. Cautiously, he made his way downstairs, pulling out his wrench as he approached the door. He took hold of the door knob, the wrench in his other hand, ready to attack. Slowly turning the door knob, he threw the door open. No one was there. "Huh?" He stuck his head out to see if anyone was skulking around. Not a soul to be found. How strange.

Shrugging the situation off, Tails closed the door. He turned around, only to witness Zenith standing in front of him. "Boo."

"Amy!" Tails yelled up to the pink hedgehog. He attempted to run to her and activate his defense but was knocked unconscious by the maniac man.

With the bodyguard out of the way, Zenith ran up the stairs and into the open-doored bedroom. Amy pulled out her hammer, holding it in a defensive position. "Don't you dare come near me." She warned him.

God he wasn't prepared for such a spectacular sight. She was breathtaking in her dress. Breathtakingly... pregnant? No. No, no, no, no! There was no way she was pregnant with the blue rodent's child. Was that why Dark warned him about not hurting her? Why didn't he mention her being pregnant? "You... You're..."

"I mean it. Come near me and I'll smash you into next werk!"

Ah, right. He had to capture her. There was no time to question his master right now. He sneered at the girl. "That's hardly the way to treat an old friend."

"You're not my friend. You're a lying, twisted man!" She spoke with disdain towards him.

He frowned. "I'm not the lying one. If you want to call anyone a liar, you should be looking closer to home."

She lowered her hammer slightly, curious to know what he meant. Closer to home? Was he referring to Sonic? Typical of Zenith to throw her boyfriend under the bus. It wasn't the first time after all. "Throwing accusations again, Zenith? And here I was told that you were a changed man. Prison has clearly done nothing for you."

"That's where you are wrong, my rose. I've learnt a lot during my time in jail. New tricks and new friends. Come with me and I'll show you." He stepped towards her, baring a huge smile on his face.

Amy held her hammer back up, threating to attack him with it. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" She swung her hammer towards him.

Lifting his hand towards the hammer, he deflected the weapon with ease, throwing it across the room. Amy watched in horror as her hammer hit the floor. "I wasn't giving you a choice." He grabbed the girl from behind, holding her tightly as she struggled. "Chaos Control."

A glimmer of light engulfed them and vanished along with them in seconds. Leaving the unconscious fox on the ground downstairs.

* * *

The pink hedgehog continued to struggle as Zenith placed her against a rusty iron pillar within the abandoned factory. He wrapped her in chains, being careful around her bump. He was still pissed to find her pregnant. His precious rose, defiled by that disgusting excuse for a hedgehog and worse, was now carrying his abomination of a child. It was just wrong. Beautiful roses were not supposed to be desecrated like this.

Amy was more repulsed by the supposed living accommodations of her stalker. This place was barbaric, uninhabitable. A deserted waste. She looked around at the eery factory, the flimsy building held great promise of collapse. Her eyes caught sight of red not too far away from her. Was that... Blood?

Zenith approached the girl, his eyes examining her heavily. His wandering eyes left her feeling exposed. "Such a beautiful dress. I haven't seen you wear something this appealing since the day of our wedding." He stroked her quills. "I've never forgotten how amazing you looked in that dress." She turned away from him, sickened by his touch. Zenith retracted his hand, visibly hurt by her rejection. He scoffed, moving away from her and huffing. "You know it doesn't feel good to have you treat me this way, you know?"

"How do you expect me to react?" She spat at him. "The last time I saw you, you undressed me whilst I was unconscious, you tried to force me to marry you and physically attacked me. I had to get stitches because of you!"

"Oh? And what about me? If you can manage to not think about yourself for just one second, you'd remember that I also suffered. That obnoxious blue hedgehog hurt me so bad, I needed facial recognition! Five times!"

She looked back at him. "I thought you looked alittle different."

He ignored her comment, continuing his rant. "I did nothing but love you, Amy. Admittedly, I still do love you. I won't hide that. But you... Even after everything that happened, you still remain loyal to him. Like the weak, love sick girl you've always been!"

"You were the one who set Sonic and Mitsy up! Both of them were innocent."

"To show you that Sonic can't be trusted!"

"If you think for one second that I'd believe you over Sonic, then you really are mad!"

Zenith turned away from his beloved, using chaos control to create a sphere, showing him where Dark currently was. To his delight, Dark had successfully managed to possess the blue rodent and was in the middle of his entertaining plan. "You don't have to take my word for it. I can show you." He sniggered quietly to himself. "Do you know where Sonic is right now?"

She raised her eyebrow at the green man. Of course she knew where Sonic was. Why would he ask such a question? Was he going to attack him too? "Of course I know where he is. Once he's done, he'll come looking for me and you'll be sorry."

Zenith slowly turned to Amy, holding the sphere in hand. "Ah, yes. These _appointments_ he always goes to. Same time every week. Didn't it concern you? All those appointments and he still couldn't find a diagnosis?" He smirked at her coy appearance. "This is what he was _really_ doing." He threw the sphere to the floor, opening up the visual sphere on the ground for Amy to see.

To her horror, she witnessed the shocking scene that she had previously told herself couldn't be true. Sonic was cheating on her.

The blue hedgehog towered over the half naked girl below him, on a recliner. Kissing her lustfully as he pumped into her with animalistic vigor.

Zenith covered his mouth, pretending to be shocked and horrified for the pink girl. "To think, he has such a beautiful woman like you and he still chooses to sleep with girls like that. Despicable."

"No." Amy squealed as she squeezed her eyes. "This isn't real. This is one of your tricks!" She screamed at her stalker, not believing what she was seeing. Sonic wouldn't do that. He would never hurt her like that. He swore her suspicions were false. It couldn't be true. It wasn't!

The green hedgehog held up her communicator on her wrist, swiping til he found Sonic's name and clicked on it. "If I'm wrong, Sonic's communicator will be silent. If I'm right, well..." He looked down at the scene with Sonic and Staci, smiling to himself to see the communicator flash. He turned to Amy, witnessing her turning away, holding back her tears. "Don't look away! You need to see just how evil he really is!"

Anguished whimpers escaped her lips as the tears gushed down her cheeks. The pain in her heart knew bounds. Her lover. Her everything had betrayed her. He had probably betrayed her for months. It all made sense, just like it had when she confronted him. The distance, his inability to look at her, his absence. He was seeing this girl the whole time.

Zenith rolled his eyes. Yes, Sonic did bad and it's very sad. But come on! He had waited three whole years to see that hedgehog brought down a peg or two. More specifically, he wanted her to witness the real Sonic. He didn't need her looking away from the truth. "If you won't look at that sick, repulsive hedgehog, you'll just have to listen, won't you?" He used his power to activate the sounds of her lover and his fling. He walked away from the girl, leaving her to endure the torture of hearing her boyfriend romance another woman.

* * *

Her head hanged in despair, ears also drooping south. Her eyes burned a sore red and the tears had long stained her cheeks. How could he do this to her? After everything they had been through, after five years of a relationship, he had cheated on her?

And even when she had confronted him on the possibility, he lied to her face. Shamelessly looked her in her eyes and lied about his bit on the side.

How could he? She was pregnant with his child. Why? Just why?

She could still hear their pleasured moans and grunting. The sound of her boyfriend calling out another girl's name. He made it very apparent that her name was Staci. No matter how much she tried to block out the torturous noise of Sonic's betrayal, her mind fixated on the sounds in an attempt to believe what she was hearing.

"Wow. Still at it? Not so much the minute man after all." Zenith came into view, standing beside the tormented female. He crossed his arms, examining the vision on the ground. "Does he always do that position? I mean, you'd have to be pretty bendy to pull that one off. What do you think?" He looked over at her. Her head still hanging low.

Amy slowly lifted her head, her dull eyes looked ahead, not daring to look his way. "Make it stop." She muttered in a monotonous tone.

Zenith looked somewhat disappointed in her reaction. He had just gotten her to see Sonic's true colours. She should have been happy or thanking him at least. "Now do you see what he's truly capable of?"

"Stop it... Now." She turned to him with her anger beginning to flare in her eyes. Her body began to shake as she felt more tears forming in her strained eyes.

"Do you see it?!"

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" She screamed at the green hedgehog. The chains rattled and clanged against the pillar as the girl ferociously struggled within them. An agonised scream escaped her lips as she ceased her movements and sobbed loudly.

Bothered by her outburst, the hedgehog grudgingly erased the vision from the ground. A shooting pain coursed through him as the vision faded, resulting in a nosebleed. He grunted in pain and wiped his nose. "What?" He looked down at the blood in confusion.

Amy watched him cluelessly rattle his mind for a reason for the pain and nosebleed. Seemed like his power over chaos was fading. If his powers of chaos were fading, that could only mean he was given some power to control, he was left without a source. "Just how did you get that power, Zenith?" Her voice still croaky from her crying.

"I was gifted. Gifted by the mighty Chaos himself." Zenith answered her with a holier than thou attitude. "Whilst I was in prison, I was graced by Chaos. I gave myself to him, became a loyal disciple and in my redemption, he enlightened me to ascend to the highest level. With this power, I am a god!"

"Chaos came to you?"

"Yes. In a being of majestic power!"

Amy nodded slowly. "And he gave you this power. Unlimited?"

"Yes! You have seen what I can do. Just think of the endless possibilities. I can bring the world to my knees in worship of me."

She scoffed. "You are draining your life force." She stated. "A piece of chaos was given to you. Now you're running low on chaos energy and with no source of power, you are using your own life force."

Zenith frowned. He walked passed her and looked away. "What would you know?"

"I've been around Chaos long enough to know what's happening. Whoever gave you this power clearly doesn't trust you enough to hold a big amount of its energy."

"He trusts me! I've proven my worth to him! He gave me this power for a reason."

"And what reason is that exactly?" She asked, shrugging towards her stalker. "What is your big plan here, Zenith? I mean, you've shown me that my boyfriend is a no good, deceitful hog. What now?" She stared at him intensely, watching him glare back at her. She scoffed, chuckling sadistically at him. "Let me guess. You intended to show me what Sonic was up to and I was supposed to just fall into your arms, like a little damsel in distress?" She chuckled even more as his mighty image crumbled to the clueless and exposed man he was. "You really haven't changed a bit."

"You needed to know the truth--"

"And you need to get this into your head!" She growled towards him. "I. Do not. Love you. I never have loved. I certainly NEVER WILL love you. Your plans to show me how terrible Sonic is always had the same problem, Zenith. You simply cannot fathom the fact that I will never love you."

He approached her slowly, getting close to her and towering over her. He looked down at her, his temper beginning to boil. "You better watch that tongue of yours." He warned her.

Amy remained silent. She knew better than to overstep her luck with this man. The last time she had fought him, she wasn't pregnant. This time, she had a baby to think about.

Seeing her oblige to his threat, he relaxed slightly. He was still awfully close to the pink hedgehog. Close enough to smell her floral aroma. He breathed in her scent, exhaling with a quiver. "My beautiful rose. I know it's hard for you to see right now. But soon, when you get over your infatuation with Sonic, you'll see your true feelings for me. We'll be together then." His words became mere whispers as he moved in close and sealed their lips in a kiss. Amy tried shaking her head to break the kiss but he held her in place with his hand against her cheek.

His actions changed as quickly as his demeanour. The gentle approach he started with had instantly become vulgar. He forcefully kissed her and ravished her body with his unbidden hands, pressing himself against her inorder to prevent her from struggling.

In a desperate attempt to break free from him, Amy bit down on his lip. Zenith growled, retracting from the hedgehog and clasping his bleeding lip. He looked back at her, enraged. "You fucking bitch!" He grabbed her throat.

"Zenith please!" She pleaded. "Please. I'm sorry." She begged for mercy for the sake of her child.

"You... are weak." His words were merciless.

"N-no." She cried, once again struggling beneath the chains.

"You need to be taught a lesson."

"No, no! Please! I'm sorry!" She screamed as the hedgehog brutally attacked her, sparring no mercy for her vulnerable state. Her cries and shrieks echoed around them until only the sounds of his punches and kicks could be heard.

* * *

"Oh... Oh... Yes." She moaned breathlessly, gripping onto the fabric of the recliner. She felt her end nearing with every thrust. She bit her lip at the overwhelming pleasure that Sonic was giving her. She looked up at him, watching his pleasured laced face. It only added to her arousal knowing that he was enjoying himself just as much as she was.

He leaned down, planting another kiss on her gloss smudged lips. A hungry kiss. Just like his movements. Raunchy, wild and hot. He sped up, pumping faster into her for the final moments. She moaned loudly against their kiss as her climax was made clear. Her legs gripped his waist tightly as the orgasm shook through her until she slowly began to relax. He pulled out of her moments later, turning away from her before he began to dress himself.

She could only watch as he placed his socks and shoes back on. His energy must be boundless. To perform so intensely and bounce back the way he had was rather impressive. She was still breathing heavily from that workout.

His silence left her feeling a little uncertain of her own abilities. Did he really enjoy that or was he just storing his energy? "Did you enjoy that?"

"Heh." He smirked, turning to the girl. "You bet." He kissed her briefly. "You might wanna get changed. Don't want to get caught, do ya?"

"You told me you like that sort of thing on the way in here." She grinned.

He smirked again before bringing her lips back onto his. He leaned over her once more, deepening the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. Perhaps there was time for another round.

Then he felt the wave of pleasure hitting him. Not lustful pleasure. Pleasure he received from the negative thoughts of others. This couldn't be Sonic's negativity and he was only connected to another hedgehog.

No. Oh no he hadn't done what he feared he had done. _That useless piece of shit!_ Dark yelled out internally.

He immediately pulled away from the girl, turning away and exiting Sonic's body in a haste. He flew up into the air vent before Sonic could come around from his comatosed state.

The hedgehog staggered back slightly, grasping his spinning head. He squeezed his eyes shut momentarily and shook his head to regain his composure. "What happened?"

"Are you okay, Sonic?" The familiar voice came from behind him. He paused. Staci? What was she doing in Doctor Juniper's office?

He turned to face the girl who was now sitting up on the recliner. She appeared to be half naked. Her bra being the only garment she adorned. "Whoa! What the--" He covered his eyes. "Sorry!"

Staci gave him a puzzled look.."What's wrong?"

"I, uh... Did I walk in here whilst you were changing or something?" He looked away from her, too embarrassed to look her way. "My bad, really."

The lilac bandicoot was completely baffled by his behaviour but shrugged it off and giggled at his games. "Is this one of your jokes or something?" Now he was the one left baffled. Staci chortled, slightly taken back by his strange behaviour. "I've had one night stands where I've forgotten exactly what happened the night before but forgetting moments after sex? That's a new one for me." Her tone made it known how offended she was.

Moments after... Oh god. He didn't...? They didn't...?

"What the fu--" He muttered out, running his hands through his quills. How did this happen? He couldn't even remember what he did. The last thing he could recall was leaving this room. How did he manage to end up back in here with her?

This was bad. Very bad. He had cheated. Somehow, he had managed to betray his girlfriend and he couldn't even remember doing it.

But judging by the girl's appearance and how serious she now looked, it was safe to say they had sex. Oh Chaos. Amy couldn't find out about this!

Speaking of Amy... Crap! The baby shower! He turned to the clock on the wall, eyes widening to see the time. Shit! He was supposed to be home an hour ago! "I have to go..." He thought aloud. He began to pass the young woman when she grabbed his wrist.

"That's it? You're gonna just leave right after we did what we just did?"

"You realise I have a girlfriend right? A pregnant girlfriend?" He asked rhetorically.

Staci began to collect her clothes, slipping her work uniform back on in a haste. "Oh, so you suddenly remembered your precious girlfriend and the child you never wanted? It wasn't long ago that you were saying you didn't want her. In fact, you used the words _fuck her_ when I asked what if she finds out."

Okay, there was no way he would have said anything like that about Amy. None of this made any sense! He had no intentions of cheating. His goal was to have his therapy session and go straight back to Amy. **How** did this happen?!

"She cannot find out about this." He told the heartbroken receptionist.

"Or else what? Your girlfriend finds out just how little you care about her and your child?"

"I love her--"

She sniggered. "Yeah. You love her so much and yet here you were, all over me just a few moments ago."

Sonic sighed heavily. "Look, I'm sorry but I never meant for this to happen. I know I'll sound like a big jerk right now but please, you can't tell anyone."

Staci paused, staring at him with contempt. "Is that what you said to that prostitute you were caught with? To keep your secrets?"

"That was a misunderstanding."

"But this wasn't. Wait until the press hears about this. I can just see the headlines now. Sonic the serial cheat."

The hedgehog stared down at her, not daring to blink. "Fine. Tell them what happened. Reveal who you are and just hope Amy doesn't come for you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Not a threat. A warning. Have you ever wondered what a hero like me is afraid of? What could possibly bring the blue blur to his knees?" Staci remained quiet. "Yeah, her. So if she has that power over me, what chance do you have?" His voice held frustration and intimidation. He knew the indirect threat was poor taste but if he was to keep her hushed about what happened between them, he would have to play a little dirty.

Staci stared back at him before walking towards the door and opening it. She stood beside the open door, looking down at the floor. "I think it would be best if you leave now..."

He obliged, wanting nothing more than to forget about what had just happened. He felt disgusting, guilt ridden and filled with dread. He thought his secrets about the baby and therapy were bad, this just brought his lies and problems to a whole new level. If Amy ever found out about this, she'd leave him for good. He couldn't bare the thought of that. There was already a time where he had nearly lost her, he couldn't go through that again.

The blue blur raced back to his home. He needed to scrub the skin crawling feeling away. With any luck, he would scrub himself out of existence. At least then he'd be safe. Sonic came to a halt at the front door. Geez, the nerves were on fire right now. How was he supposed to face her now? Chaos help him.

Letting out a shaky breath, the hedgehog walked into the house. He was surprised to find his team staring back at him. "What are you guys doing here?" He noticed his girlfriend was missing. "Where's Amy?"

"Answer your communicator!" Rouge scolded the hedgehog. "We've been trying to contact you for ages!"

"Huh?" He looked down at his communicator. Oh boy. Seven calls from Rouge, five from Knuckles, two from Cream and one from Amy. How did he not hear all of those calls? Then again, why did he receive so many calls? Did something happen? "Where is she?" He questioned his friends in a serious tone.

"He took her." Tails answered the hedgehog. Sonic turned to the fox. "I tried to get to Amy but Zenith knocked me out."

"I came over to see if Tails was okay with watching Amy on his own. When I got here, I found him unconscious and Amy was gone." Knuckles finished the explanation.

This couldn't be happening. While he was messing around with Staci, Amy had been kidnapped by her stalker. Who knew what he could be doing to her? "Shit!" Sonic cursed aloud. He let this happen. All because he got caught up in the moment with Staci.

"I'm sorry, Sonic." Tails looked down, ashamed of himself for allowing this to happen.

Sonic placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Don't worry buddy. I'm not blaming you." He sighed. "I should have been here." He shook his head. There wasn't time for his regret right now. "Do we have any information on where they could be? Can we track Amy's location?"

"We tried that. It seems her communicator is broken or something. Zenith obviously made sure to stop us from getting to her." His best friend told the blue leader.

"They could be anywhere." He sighed. "We'll just have to search the city. Rouge and Cream, you're on sky view. Knuckles, you take..." He paused. A shooting pain came from his head, he grabbed his head instinctively, squeezing his eyes shut as he winced in pain. Images of the abandoned factory filled his mind, he saw the broken down building with the eery interior. Then he saw the image he never wanted to see. Amy was chained up against a pillar, appearing to fall in and out of consciousness. Her hanging head lifted slowly, falling back against the pillar, revealing her bleeding lip,

_"Find her." _A familiar voice came to him. His words were repetitive, echoing in Sonic's mind until his face appeared in front of him. "_Find her!" _Dark demanded.

"Whoa!" Sonic jumped back.

"What's wrong?" Knuckles asked him.

Sonic held his head, not quite sure what he had just seen. "I... I think I just had a vision." He looked up at his friends. "We have to go. Now." He headed towards the door.

"Where is she?" Rouge asked the main question amongst the group.

"The factories outside the cities." The blue leader opened the front door harshly. "C'mon. We have to hurry!" He exclaimed. He raced down the path, not bothering to wait for his friends. Zenith was going to pay for what he had done. He would make sure of it.

* * *

She stood, captured in a numb silence. Her body was screaming in a singeing pain. Had she not been chained against the pillar, she would have no doubt collapsed by now.

Zenith held no mercy to the fact that she was pregnant. Her begging and screaming meant nothing to the mad man. He had attacked her bump just as much as the rest of her. After his frenzy, he simply walked away from her, leaving her drifting in and out of consciousness.

She looked around for him, fearing he would come back and finish her or the baby. She had to get away from him. For her baby's sake.

To her dismay, the green hedgehog's footsteps could be heard from behind her, approaching slowly. He stopped a few feet away from her, looking what could be described as guilty. "Look, about what I did... I'm sorry. I just... I wanted to help you." She looked up at him, struggling to lift her heavy head. "I was trying to help you get stronger, that's all. Like before. I shouldn't have gone so hard on you. I'm sorry."

Was he freaking kidding? He attacked her and her unborn child whilst she was chained and defenseless and his excuse was training?

Regardless of how ridiculous the excuse was, Amy slowly nodded back at him, not wanting to start him off again. She kept her head down to avoid eye contact.

Zenith sighed with relief. "I'm so glad you understand. I honestly thought for a second that you wouldn't see it my way. I knew you were smart. You're just perfect."

A sharp pain in her stomach stopped any possibility of responding. It was a tightening feeling. Painfully tight. That wasn't one of her typical braxton hicks. That hurt far too much. She breathed out as she endured the pain.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" He approached her slowly, watching as the girl squeezed her eyes shut and tensed up. "Is something wrong?" He was just about to move her fallen quill out of her face when he was met by a blue spin dash. The impact sent him fkying across the factory. He rolled across the dusty floor.

Sonic growled towards the green hedgehog. "Didn't learn your lesson the last time, huh Zenith?!"

Zenith looked towards Sonic in shock. How did he find him so quickly? "You!" He attempted to use his powers by creating a chaos attack. Nothing happened. "What? My power!"

The blue hedgehog charged at the hedgehog, spin dashing him once again. Zenith fell to the floor hard. Sonic lifted the green hedgehog off the ground by his neck. "You remember me doing this to you before? I obviously didn't squeeze hard enough."

"Sonic!" Tails called to the leader. "Leave him!"

Sonic turned to the fox. "He's gonna pay for what he's done!"

"Now's not the time! Just look at Amy! We need to take her to the hospital!" The fox insisted.

He was in such a rage to avenge Amy, he had completely passed her and went straight for the deranged narcissist. The blue male punched Zenith in the face, sending him across the factory once more. Seeing the hedgehog was unable to get up right away, Sonic rushed over to his girlfriend. "It okay, Amy. We'll get you out of here."

She gritted het teeth as she once again tensed up. In his rush to get her out of the chains, Sonic failed to notice her pain.

"Sonic. She's bleeding." Blaze told the hedgehog, referring to the blood on the front of Amy's dress.

Sonic looked down at the blood. That had to be coming from her... No. The midwife had told them that excessive bleeding was abnormal during pregnancy. Chaos, don't let anything happen to the baby. "Amy..." She whimpered as the tears fell down her face. There was no time to lose. Ripping off the chains, Sonic caught his girlfriend just before she could fall to the ground. "Don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay."

Taking the pregnant woman in his arms, the hedgehog ran to the hospital. Amy groaned in his arms, breathing heavily and abnormally fast. He had no idea what was happening to her. Now they were close to the hospital, she and the baby could be treated for any injuries.

He could only hope for their well being.

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry for such a long chapter. I didn't know where to end it. Congratulations if you got to the end of it. **


	8. Serenity

Chapter Eight: Serenity

Upon arriving to the hospital, the blue hedgehog called out for the doctors and midwives from the middle of the maternity centre, attracting the shocked gazes of the other parents to be. The midwives and doctors rushed to get Amy in for examination. After getting the girl into triage, the midwives were gathering information about Amy's condition.

"How did she get like this?" Jenny questioned Sonic.

The blue hedgehog stood beside the agonised pink girl. She was still breathing harshly, gripping tightly to the bed rails. "She was kidnapped and attacked."

"Do you know exactly what happened?"

"No. I brought her straight here when we saved her."

"Alright. Thank you, Sonic." The midwife turned to Amy. "Amy dear, now don't be alarmed but you're going into labour--" Jenny was about to continue her explanation but the horrified Amy stopped her.

The pink hedgehog sat up slowly, eyes wide in shock. "W-what? No, I can't be. It's too soon."

"We can use a medicine called turbutaline to slow down the labour for a few days. We'll issue some other medication to ensure your baby is in the best condition they can be in when they're born."

"Wait." Sonic stepped forward. "Are you telling us that there's no way to stop the labour from happening?" He turned to Amy's bump, feeling the sense of dread wash over him.

Jenny gave the couple a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. We can slow the process down for a few days but the baby will be born premature. Don't worry. A baby over 25 weeks will receive treatment in neonatal. They'll be in the best hands, I can assure you."

Fuck. If he had just gone home to her straight after his appointment, they wouldn't be here right now. All of this could have been prevented if he hadn't done what he did with Staci. A shaky breath escaped his lips. To think, at the start of the pregnancy, he was hoping something would happen to the baby. Now, he wanted nothing more than a healthy child.

He turned to look at Amy. The poor girl had been through hell. Her beautiful white dress that she was to wear to their day of happiness was now bloodstained and covered in mud. She clinged to the rails, sobbing and whimpering from the news and the pains of labour. He didn't know what to say. The guilt of knowing he could have saved her prevented him from reassuring her.

Jenny held up a doppler in hand. "I'm just going to check baby's heartbeat, sweetie. Can I lift up your dress?" She asked the pink hedgehog. Amy nodded, turning herself to rest her back against the pillows. She lifted her dress for Jenny to check the baby's heartbeat. "Lovely dress by the way." Jenny complimented the hedgehog, hoping the minor small talk would calm her nerves down. She gently pressed against her stomach, trying to find the baby's location. Placing some gel on her stomach, she pressed the doppler against her bump. She moved the doppler around the particular area, a look of concern spread across her face.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, squeezing Amy's hand.

Jenny continued to move the doppler around. Uncertain of her own findings, she chose to get a second opinion. "I'm just going to get the doctor and have them listen." She told the couple. She placed the doppler down and left the room.

Amy turned to her boyfriend with fear in her eyes. Jenny hadn't looked or seemed confident in finding the heartbeat like she had many times before. Was there something wrong with their baby? "Something's wrong, isn't there? I made Zenith mad and he hurt our baby." She sobbed. "I caused this." Another sob escaped her lips. "I put the baby in danger."

No. That was not the case at all. If anything, it was his fault. Because whilst she and their baby were being brutally assaulted, he was having sex. Oh his situation couldn't be any worse. It was bad enough that he had cheated but cheating whilst his pregnant girlfriend was kidnapped and beaten? Oh Chaos...

He grabbed both of her hands and held them in his own. "Listen to me." He looked into her tearful eyes, seeing her fear and guilt. His own emotions of guilt and sorrow were overwhelming him as he felt himself getting close to tears. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to hold back his emotions and try and comfort his lover. "None of this is your fault. If anyone is to blame it's Zenith..." He contemplated whether to add himself into the blame but decided telling her during a time like this would be too much for her. "Besides." He rubbed her hands lovingly. "Our baby will be a fighter. They'll be just fine."

She stared at him, wanting to believe his words. But how could she? The Sonic she knew: the loyal, honest, reliable partner, was dead to her. Trust burnt, loyalty was a joke to him and so was honesty because he had been lying to her for months. And reliability? If he hadn't been with this Staci, he'd be there to protect her when she needed him the most.

Though right now, she needed him. She hated that she needed him. If something was wrong with their baby, there was no one else she wanted next to her. She looked at their entwined hands and smiled weakly. "I hope you're right." Another contraction caused her to grit her teeth. She squeezed Sonic's hand tightly, causing him to grunt in discomfort.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Sonic and Amy turned to see Mitsy and Jenny walking towards them. Mitsy gave the couple a smile. "Hello you two. I've been told that your little one is being a little cheeky for Jenny here. I'll see if I can help." She pressed against the bump gently to feel the baby then placed more gel on Amy's stomach. She pressed the doppler against her stomach. "Lovely dress Amy. Going somewhere nice?"

"It was supposed to be our baby shower today." Amy answered. The sadness in her voice tore through him, so much so, he had to look down at the ground to hide his emotions.

Mitsy nodded back at the female. She had been through enough without having to explain it all again. She continued to try and find the heartbeat. There was silence throughout the room. Anticipation heavy. Amy squeezed onto Sonic's hand tightly, fearing the worse.

Sonic grew tired of the suspense. "What's happening? Isn't there supposed to be some train sounding noise right now?" His irritation spewing out.

Maintaining an emotionless face, Mitsy removed the doppler from Amy's stomach and turned to Jenny, whispering something to her. She turned back to the couple and smiled. "Baby's still a little too cheeky. Even for me! We're going to perform an ultrasound. That way, the baby can't escape us." She gave a small giggle before unclipping the brakes from the wheels beneath the hospital bed.

"Sonic." Amy frightfully clinged to her partner's hand.

"It's okay, Ames. Everything's going to be fine. I promise." He reassured her. He walked alongside the hospital bed to the ultrasound, squeezing her hand just as tightly as she was to him. Amy thought it was reassurance but actually, he was just as scared as she was.

* * *

The pain was becoming more apparent. With the contractions appearing every eight minutes and lasting 45 seconds on average, the doctor and midwife were eager to locate the heartbeat so they could ensure the baby's condition was stable enough to issue various drugs.

Amy gripped onto Sonic's hand throughout the ultrasound. With both hedgehog's looking intensely at the screen, they tried their best to comfort one another through the ordeal.

Mitsy ran the transducer against Amy's stomach, focusing on the screen. She clicked various buttons. One that was to highlight the flow of blood to the baby's heart and another to indicate the sound.

Sonic turned from the screen, to Mitsy. She glanced over at him for a moment before focusing back on the screen in front of her. Her facade was strong. There was no telling how things were going by the look on her face.

She continued for another ten minutes before she took the transducer off Amy's abdomen. She sat beside the bed and gave a sympathetic look.

"Mitsy... Please." Amy begged the doctor, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "No..."

Sonic turned to his crying girlfriend. What was happening? "E-everything is okay, isn't it?"

The mongoose maintained a professional manner. "I'm really sorry..."

"What are you sorry for--" His eyes widened. No... That wasn't a possibility. It couldn't be. "No. Not the baby. Mitsy--" Amy's sobs stopped him in mid sentence. He turned to the distressed female and attempted to console her.

A single tear fell down the doctor's face at the scene of her friend's heartbreak. "I'm so sorry." She repeated. She swallowed hard. "We can't find a heartbeat. I'm afraid... your baby has died."

"Nooo!" Amy screamed. She wailed loudly, clutching her bump. Her heart panged, ceasing her breath. She cried breathlessly before more sobs escaped her.

This couldn't be happening. He refused to believe this was happening. Their baby couldn't be dead. Not on the day of the baby shower. Not when they had just three months left until they were supposed to meet their little one.

Amy grabbed his arm, forcing him out of his state of denial and overthinking. She grunted and cried through the pain, unable to focus on breathing properly. Oh the labour! What about that? Weren't they going to slow the process down? "What happens now?" He spoke in a low tone. His ability to hold back his tears was becoming too much for him. He felt the need to hold it together. For her sake. He let out a heavy breath. "What do we do now?"

Mitsy stood up from her seat. "We allow the labour to progress. You'll have as much time as you like with your baby."

"I have to give birth?" Amy asked, bewildered by the news. Mitsy nodded back at her. Amy shook her head violently. "I can't. I can't give birth to a dead baby!" She cried out.

"I'm sorry, Amy. It's the safer option for you. Prolonging the birth will make this a lot more difficult for you in the long run." She turned to Jenny. "Move her to delivery." She instructed.

"No! I can't do this!" She cried. She pulled on Sonic's arm, desperate for reassurance that this wasn't happening and everything was going to be okay with the baby. "You promised! You said everything would be fine."

He couldn't say anything. Just like his promise to protect her, his promise that everything was okay became empty. The look of angst across her features once again broke through his persona. He broke down, sobbing alongside her. "I'm sorry."

Amy let go of her boyfriend's hand, covering her face as the uncontrollable sobs escaped her. Sonic watched her as the girl sobbed her aching heart out. It killed him to see like this. Especially when all his lies were to ensure she would never look like this. Fate was ultimately against him. No matter how much he had tried to protect her, he still failed.

Her trauma wasn't even finished. She had to give birth to their still born child and he could do nothing but ensure she was as comfortable as she could possibly be.

Jenny gave a small smile as she began to push the bed out of the room to head to delivery. Sonic attempted to reassure his girlfriend once more but she recoiled from him, turning away, onto her side slowly. It hurt, a lot, to see her shun him but understandably, she was hurting. Whatever she had to do to cope, he was going to take it.

Not wanting to seem useless, the hedgehog took hold of the bed and began to push for the midwife. She thanked him and guided the way. Looking down at his girlfriend, he winced at her agonised expression as the contaction took over her.

This was going to be a rough labour.

* * *

She panted and breathed heavily through the long contractions. Over time, they became closer, stronger, more intolerable. No matter how much she groaned, cried and screamed, she refused any medication. Even when Sonic insisted she needed something to handle the pain, she would shake her head and refuse. He reasoning was that she wanted to remember every second. Every painful second.

The final stage of labour had arrived. Now completely dilated, Mitsy encouraged the girl to push whenever a contraction came around. The female hedgehog sat up in the bed, one hand gripping onto the bedsheets whilst the other gripped onto Sonic's hand. She pushed with every contraction, grunting and groaning through the pain.

Sonic could only watch as the love of his life endured such agony. The tight grip she had against his hand was the only fragment of pain he could share with her. He didn't think that would measure even slightly to what she was going through.

"You're doing so well, Amy. The head is emerging." Mitsy told the girl.

"You got this, Ames." Sonic added his words of encouragement.

Amy dropped her head against the pillow, panting heavily. "Please don't make me." She breathed out.

"I know it's really difficult Amy but it's almost over. The head is nearly out." Jenny said.

She shook her head. "I don't... I don't want to. I want them to stay there. It's safer in there."

"Alright, next contraction Amy, we need another big push." Mitsy instructed.

"No. No... Don't make me--" Her body naturally pushed on the contraction, causing her to scream out both in pain and defiance. She fell back onto the pillow as the contraction passed. "Make it stop! I don't want to do this!" She looked to her boyfriend, pleading him to make things right. "I don't want the pregnancy to end. Not now."

He squeezed her hand. "I know."

"Please make it stop." She cried. He hushed the girl, bringing her to cry against his shoulder. She gripped onto him as another contraction took over.

"The head is out. Just one more push."

"No!" She protested. "I can't!" She held onto her boyfriend for dear life as she felt the next contraction coming. She screamed out, knowing her pregnancy was about to end. "Aaaaah!" She felt her baby leaving her, causing her to release her boyfriend and look over at the midwives. Her small sobs were the only noise in the room.

Mitsy cut the cord and took the baby away to clean them. The couple watched her on her return with the bundle in hand. She stood the other side of Amy. "Do you want to hold your daughter?"

A girl. They had a little girl. "You said it was a girl." Sonic said with a croaky voice.

The mongoose smiled at the statement before focusing back on Amy. "There's no pressure at all. If you don't want to hold her, we'll put her in a cot."

Amy shook her head. "N-no. I want to hold her." Mitsy nodded, placing the girl in her arms. At first, she couldn't bring herself to look down. Her baby that she had bonded with, felt moving around inside her, had everything ready for her to come home, was born asleep, in her arms. She was devastated.

She turned to her boyfriend, seeing him staring at the small bundle in her arms. His eyes met with hers. She could see that he was close to tears. She flashed a weak smile, trying to assure him. Building enough confidence, Amy looked down at her child.

"Oh~" She gushed at the sight of her baby. She was breathtaking. A light pink hedgehog with quills matching her father's. She smiled bittersweetly towards the baby. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Amy..." Sonic felt the tears roll down his cheeks at her apology, knowing she blamed herself for the death of their daughter.

Amy began to cry once again. "You really are our little angel now. A perfect little angel." She sobbed. She kissed her child's head, feeling her cold forehead. It broke her heart which she made apparent in an agonised whimper.

Sonic looked away, unable to bare the scene in front of him. He was once afraid to have to have a child. Now he was afraid to lose her. His baby girl, stripped away too soon.

"She's beautiful." Mitsy added. Amy mouthed her thanks, smiling down at her child. The doctor turned to Sonic. She approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it consolingly. He looked at her over his shoulder. "There's no rush at all. You both have as much time with her as you want." He nodded back at her. Mitsy smiled and turned back to Amy. "We're gonna inject some oxytocin to get the placenta, Amy. It may be a little uncomfortable."

Amy nodded, not fully concerned about what she or Jenny were going to do to her. She was too busy staring at her child, wanting to make sure she remembered all of her features before they were forever parted.

Placenta successfully extracted, Mitsy and Jenny examined it. The doctor and midwife looked at one another, both understanding the cause of death. "Placental abruption."

Sonic's ears perked up. "What?"

Mitsy looked over towards the blue hedgehog. "The placenta came away from the womb. Completely detached. You were lucky to have saved Amy before she lost anymore blood. Unfortunately, the baby was starved of oxygen... Resulting in..." She gulped. "I'm really sorry."

In other words, if Zenith hadn't attacked her and the baby, the placenta wouldn't have detached from Amy's womb and their baby would still be alive. He growled at the thought of that hedgehog. He was going to pay for killing his daughter.

Amy looked over at Sonic. "Sonic." Noticing his anger. "Come here..." He turned to her, seeing her holding out the baby towards him. "Come and hold her."

He obliged immediately, walking over to the pink hedgehog to get the sleeping baby. He carefully scooped her into his arms. Oh... Oh there it was. The sense of love and pride he had been looking for throughout the entire pregnancy. This little beauty was his daughter. His beautiful, born-sleeping daughter and after all this time, he only realised how much he loved her when it was too late. It was a common thing for him. First with Amy and now his baby. He didn't know what he wanted until they left him.

He couldn't bring himself to speak. The corners of his lips jittered, threatening to release the heartbreak he was experiencing. He held her close, wanting nothing more than to hear her wailing back at him. She was cold. Heartbreakingly cold. The sobs escaped him, bellowing out against his dead baby's head. "I'm sorry."

Amy cried silently, pained to see her hero break down. She knew how much he hated to appear "weak". Her boyfriend sat back in the beside her, his head resting lightly against the baby's. The scene was bittersweet. A true tragedy and yet so humbling. In the midst of all the chaos that was happening in their lives and relationship, this sweet little angel was a peaceful abstract keeping them together. "Serenity." She said out of nowhere. Sonic looked up at her, tears still falling down his face. She smiled back at him. "Can we call her Serenity?"

He nodded back at her, smiling ever so slightly before looking back at their daughter. "Hey Seren." He found he liked her shortened name.

A knock at the door made everyone turn towards it. Mitsy went to answer it, poking her head outside the door slightly to see who was there. In between the mumbled conversation, Sonic could hear their friends talking to Mitsy. "Do you want me to send them away?" He asked Amy.

Amy nodded back but looked shamefully down at the bedsheets. "Can I have some time with her, alone?" He was a little surprised to hear she wanted to be on her own in such a vulnerable time but he was willing to oblige. He nodded back at her, carefully passing Serenity to her. "Oh, and Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you possibly get that blanket we got for her? I don't want her to be cold."

He nodded. Leaning down to kiss her forehead, the hedgehog left the room. He found his friends and Mitsy talking about what had happened. They turned to him, completely silent and giving him looks of empathy. He could feel himself getting emotional again as they stared.

Mitsy turned to Sonic. "Did you want them to see the baby?"

Sonic shook his head. "Amy's asked for some time alone with Serenity."

The doctor nodded. "I'll be near if you need me." She smiled before leaving the hedgehog with his friends.

"We're truly sorry, Sonic." Blaze broke the awkward silence.

Sonic smiled back at the cat. "Couldn't be helped... Had I not gotten Amy here on time, there would of been complications with her too. Serenity was already lost before we got here..." He looked around at the corridor, trying to distract himself from crying.

"Serenity... It's a nice name." Rouge smiled. The team agreed, nodded and approving of the name. Sonic smiled back, not knowing what more to say.

"How is Amy?" Cream asked.

"Been better of course but she's keeping herself together." He kept his answer short, feeling himself about to break down again.

His friends could see his attempts to hold himself were becoming too much for him. Silver stepped in front of everyone and tried to distract them all. "Why don't we all get a drink?" The team approved of that idea.

Sonic politely declined. "Sorry. I have to get the blanket from home. You guys go ahead though."

"Mind if I tag along the blanket collection?" Tails asked.

"Yeah. Me too." Knuckles stepped forwards.

In no mood to disagree, Sonic nodded. Waving at the rest of the team, the trio left the hospital to get the special blanket from the house.

* * *

Walking into the nursery, the boys looked around the room. There was a sense of eeriness to it now. Knowing the little person it had been decorated for wasn't going to be able to grow up in it. The hedgehog walked over to the cot, running his hand against top of it. He sighed, grabbing the blanket from inside the cot and holding it close.

"It's probably best to leave this room." Tails insisted.

Sonic barely heard the fox. He was fixated on the blanket, imagining holding his daughter in it, keeping her warm within the blanket and sharing his own body heat with her. She'd be close to his chest, sleeping peacefully, maybe yawning or looking for food... He'd give anything to have that as his reality.

The tears rolled down his cheeks. Damnit! Why?! Why had he fucked around with some girl when he needed to be with his girlfriend?! He knew of the situation. He knew how vulnerable Amy was. Why did he do that? Why?!

"I'm so sorry." He whispered against the blanket that he held close to his chest, imagining the blanket was filled with his healthy, breathing baby.

Tails tried to comfort his best friend by placing his hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Sonic. None of this is your fault." Sonic buried his face into the blanket in guilt and shame.

"Tails is right." Knuckles placed his hand on Sonic's other shoulder. "You have nothin' to be sorry about."

"You don't understand!" Sonic cried out, unable to maintain his lies anymore. "I could have prevented this. I could have stopped him from taking Amy."

"Sonic, you were at your appointment. Besides, you weren't to know he was gonna attack today." Tails told him.

"I cheated!" He turned to his friends, his chest heaved as his heavy chest made it difficult to breathe. He sat down on the rocking chair with his head in his hands. "When Zenith had Amy hostage... I..." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, wishing to erase the memory. "I was with another woman."

Knuckles and Tails stared at him in disbelief. "Wait... You're telling us that when we were trying to contact you about Amy, you were with some girl?" Knuckles asked. The hedgehog nodded slowly. The echidna looked dumbfounded. "So what are we talking about exactly? Did you kiss her or...?" Sonic shook his head, keeping his head down in shame. The boys soon realised what he meant. "Why?"

"I don't know. I don't even remember doing it. One minute I'm leaving the doctor's office and the next, I'm back in the office with her."

Knuckles shook his head. "What are you going to do, dude? You can't let Amy know about that! Especially now."

Tails nodded in response to Knuckles' opinion. "I have to agree with Knuckles on that one. As much as I disagree with lying to gour partner, you can't let Amy know what you did. It would destroy her."

Sonic sighed. He was done with all his lies but he knew she'd definitely leave him if she found out what he did. Getting up from the rocking chair, Sonic nodded at his friends. "You're right. It's best for her if she doesn't find out." He was relieved to have that particular secret off his chest. As long as Amy never found out, he was safe.

* * *

The trio walked into the room where Amy and Serenity had been. Their friends had joined the pink hedgehog, all gathered around the bed, a few tears could still be seen as they mourned over the loss of the baby.

Everyone turned to them as they approached with the white blanket in hand. Sonic held up the blanket as Amy placed the baby within it. She took the baby back along with the white blanket and wrapped her in it. She rested her back against the pillow again, looking down at her daughter.

Sonic joined his girlfriend on the bed, wrapping his arm around her and bringing her and Serenity close to him. Amy rested her head against his shoulder as they both stared adoringly towards the little bundle of joy.

Silence fell upon the room as the heroes paid their respects to Serenity. All sat around the bed, they smiled towards the grieving parents and towards the sleeping child. Her name was truly fitting. Through the heartbreak and sorrow that followed her death, she brought a peaceful ambient.

A bittersweet serenity.


	9. It All Comes Out

Chapter Nine: It All Comes Out

_Alone in her bed at night is where she would cry. When all the tears would roll down her face and her heart would speak it's woe._

The cloudy, chilly weather complimented the day perfectly. Gloomy and cold, just like the atmosphere. The ceremony was small, intimate. With only their friends present, the team stood side by side, staring at the small hole in the ground that was to become Serenity's new home.

It wasn't right. To look down at a deep, murky hole in the ground and know your child would be going down there, alone. What if they got cold? What if they got lonely?

Oh... Those everyday problems for a baby meant nothing to the angelic kind.

_Her fallen tears called to a little_ _cherub. __It embraced the sorrowed woman, providing warmth and comfort to her wounded heart._

Sonic carried the little casket towards it's final destination. Such a small box containing an even smaller person. They chose a white casket in hopes the colour would show her purity. Inside, they had decorated her surroundings with little toys and teddies to ensure she would never feel alone.

He looked over at Amy. She was emotionally spent. With no more tears left to cry, she stood by, in front of their friends, staring lifelessly towards the hole. All the joy she had just been taken away from her, leaving her with nothing but the memories of the pregnancy and Serenity.

And him? He was just as lost. He had Spent months wanting nothing to do with his child and then only to realise he wanted nothing more than to have his little girl back. Fatherhood had proven to be more complex than he thought.

He had never felt heartache like it. He never even knew pain like this existed. No one should have to feel the pain of losing their child. It was a messed up concept. The parents were supposed to die first, not their babies. The thought alone angered him. Such injustice. What was even more unjustified was knowing their innocent little girl had been taken from them by a man who was still breathing.

Living and breathing without any conscience to what he had done to them.

_"Why do you cry?" Asked the cherub to the lost woman. "Why do you not smile?" Spoken like a child to their mother._

Slowly, the casket was lowered into the ground. With Sonic and Tails on one side and Knuckles and Shadow on the other, Serenity was put to rest in her new home.

The grieving girls tried to comfort the bereaved mother, placing their hands on her shoulders as a reassuring gesture but Amy couldn't be swayed. She was numb. The breathing reminence to the bubbly girl they once knew. Her gaze gradually moved from the hole, to her partner. There was disdain and resentment. She really needed her lover right now but knowing what he had done and knowing he was going to keep it to himself, she couldn't go to him for comfort. And she hated him for it. His betrayal couldn't have come at a worse time.

With the casket now at the bottom of the grave, Amy took a rose in hand and dropped it into the grave. It landed on the casket. She took another rose and handed it to Sonic, staring coldly towards him. He copied her actions, dropping the flower into the grave. He looked up at her, witnessing her dead eyes staring back at him.

_"I wish to follow you. Why have you gone to a place where I cannot follow?" Cried the woman to the angelic child._

_The little cherub smiled back at her. "You don't need to follow me. I have always been with you."_

They took it upon themselves to bury the baby. Shovels in hand, the team began to shovel the dirt up and drop it into the grave. Amy stood to the side, too disassociated to take part.

Again, he looked to his girlfriend, wanting to make sure she was okay. He noticed a single tear fall down her face. She was no longer looking at the grave. Her eyes were fixated on him.

_"I've always been here with you. Even when you couldn't see. I'll continue to remain where you have always known me." The angel pointed to her heart. "Here is where I reside, always have and always will. You never stopped loving me, you were forced to change the way you love me."_

The couple looked at one another, both desperate to cling to one another in their grief. The wall of lies seperated them, creating the gaping void between them.

_Her heart ignited with the hope of a new dawn. She looked up to the sky at the brightest star and for the first time in a long while, she smiled._

* * *

The team gathered at Sonic and Amy's house. No words could be shared to the mournful parents. What was there to say? After the mundane apologies and condolences, there was nothing to say that would make them feel better. Nothing would bring their baby back.

Amy sat on the sofa, staring into space. A thousand thoughts came to mind at once: What now? How did they move on from here? Did they move on like nothing happened? Was there going to be a day where she didn't feel this pain?

And Sonic. When did he plan on telling her the truth? That he had another girl on the side and had been going to her on a regular basis instead of these appointments? That he was actually fucking her whilst she was chained up and beaten that consequently resulted in the death of their daughter.

He was sat beside her, holding her hand all the while still pretending that he hadn't done a thing. How could he live with himself? He looked into her eyes multiple times since the passing and everytime he would promise her that he would always be there for her and everything was going to be okay. How could he lie to her like that?

The truth had to be told. She couldn't carry on and move on with their relationship when she had seen his betrayal.

She looked down at her hand in his and felt the disgust that had been festering since she found out about his affair. Tears began to form in her eyes like they had many times over the last week. First she lost her daughter. Now she was going to lose her partner.

"Hey." Sonic's soothing voice cooed to her as he wiped away her tears. "It'll be okay, Ames."

"Yeah?" Her voice was raspy from all her crying. "How do you know that?" Her eyes glanced at him, an interrogating stare in hopes he would just come clean to regain some dignity and respect.

Her gaze made him feel uneasy. A mere look that was ripping through every layer of skin and exposing him bare. Those tears weren't just sorrow and grief alone. She was angry. Her eyes were practically dancing in flamed fury. This look was aimed at him. She was mad at him?

"Heh..." He awkwardly muttered. He looked away for a moment. Her eyes were still deadlocked on him. He could feel that without a doubt. And everyone else? The silence had been brought to an end by the pink hedgehog, resulting in everyone looking at both him and Amy. Like prey surrounded by predators, he felt cornered. He turned back to his girlfriend. The tears began to roll down her cheeks. He shifted towards her slightly to avoid the stares from their friends and attempted to console her. "We'll get through this together. You and me."

Amy closed her eyes, shaking her head in disappointment. She turned away from him and tried to compose herself. He was lying again. She had looked straight into his eyes and he lied, again. She couldn't help but scoff.

"Amy?" He asked with a voice filled with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry but I just can't pretend anymore." She took her hand away from his and stood up from the sofa. Her friends looked around at one another in confusion. "Oh, sorry? Do you not know what I'm talking about? I mean, that would make sense since we've all been lied to."

Sonic slowly got up from the sofa. "Ames. What's going on?"

"You tell me, Sonic! Actually, why don't you tell everyone in this room about these little _appointments_ of yours."

His eyes widened at the realisation. She knew. By Chaos, she knew! He had told so many lies, he wasn't even sure which lie she was referring to. Was she talking about the lies about his therapy sessions or about Staci?

Sensing the forthcoming showdown, Tails got up from his seat. "Perhaps you guys need some time alone." The fox suggested.

Amy held her hand up to the fox. "Sit. Down. You're going to hear this too." She ordered. Tails immediately sat back down, not wanting to be a target to her wrath. He looked towards Sonic. The blue leader was mortified. "Tell them, Sonic!" Too stunned by the sudden change of events and exposure in front of all of their friends, he was silent, staring down at the ground. His reaction only added fuel to her blazing rage. "Tell them! TELL THEM NOW. I SWEAR TO GOD!" She summoned her hammer.

"Whoa!" Knuckles, Silver and Shadow jumped forwards and grabbed the girl before she could swing it towards Sonic. Sonic had already leapt back at the sight of the weapon. "Calm down Amy!"

She breathed heavily as she struggled to break away from the three men. Her gaze remained glued to the blue hedgehog, ready to attack. "You lying, cheating bastard!"

Of all the things to find out about, she had to find out about him cheating first. Exposed, the hedgehog couldn't do anything but tell her the truth. "I'm sorry..." His confession barely a whisper.

"How could you do this to me?" She broke down, falling to her knees.

"Is anyone gonna fill us in?!" Rouge blurted out. She looked at both hedgehogs, hoping for an explanation.

Amy looked at the bat before looking back at Sonic. "Tell them what you did." She spat. "I want to hear you say it."

"Amy..." He raised his hands in front of him in defense. "Let me explain."

"What is there to explain?! You've been having an affair for months!" Amy screamed at him.

His friends turned to the blue hedgehog, all gawping and gasping. Sonic was dumbfounded. Affair? He couldn't imagine doing that to her. He felt guilty enough from the one time. He couldn't do that to her multiple times. "I never had an affair."

"Stop lying! I saw it! While I was kidnapped, Zenith showed me what you had really been doing when you said you were going to these appointments." She stood up and slowly approached the blue hedgehog. "While I was getting beaten and losing our baby, you were having sex with Staci, weren't you?" She stood inches away from him. "Weren't you?!"

He looked into her eyes. "Yeah..." He mumbled.

"Why?" Amy sobbed. She swallowed back the rest of her sobs. "Tell me what I did to make you cheat."

"Nothing." He closed his eyes to keep his tears at bay.

"Then why throw everything away?" Another sob escaped her.

He could feel daggered eyes all targeting him. None of them were as sharp as Amy's gaze. Her heartbreak was visual in her eyes. "I never wanted to hurt you. I was trying to protect you." He attempted to hold her hands but she pulled her hands away.

"How is sleeping with another woman protecting me?!" She turned away from him, trying with all her might to not slap him. "If you wanted to protect me, you wouldn't have been with her!"

He approached her, clinging onto her shoulders yet caressing them gently. "Just hear me out, okay? There's a lot more to this that I've been wanting to tell you."

"You mean there are more lies?" She laughed in disbelief. To her surprise, her boyfriend nodded. "Wow... Alright." She walked over to the stairs, making sure to grab her hammer before turning back to Sonic. "Come."

A nervous sigh unintentionally escaped him as he walked towards what he thought would be his death. He looked over to Tails and Knuckles who had been staring right back at him. Knowing how Amy's temper could get, he and they probably knew this was not going to end well. He followed his girlfriend up the stairs to their bedroom to finally spill everything that had happened in the last six months.

* * *

The tension was thick. Her gaze was deadly. Both attributes were tearing through him, making her the true bringer of death. She sat on the edge of the bed, knee bouncing with anxiety on top of the other. Well, he assumed it was anxiety. For all he knew, her anxious bouncing could actually be her anger building up.

"So..." She started. "Where do we even start? How do we get to you sleeping with another woman?" She continued to give him that deadly stare of hers.

"First, you need to know that I didn't have an affair. It was just the one time."

"Well... That's alright then." Amy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his words.

Sonic sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. If I could take it back, I would. It was the biggest mistake of my life."

"You call it a mistake and yet, to me, you didn't look or sound like you regretted it. The things you said to her, the way you were--" He could see her cringing internally. Fresh tears fell down her cheeks. "You would never be like that with me." She sobbed. "Was she more fun? Am I too... Sensible? Too sensual?" Another sob escaped her. "I could have been like that. I would have done that for you." She cried into her hands.

His heart panged at the sight of her desperation. That wasn't the case at all. "Amy." He moved in front of her and knelt down. "There's nothing wrong with you." His hand stroked her cheek, trying to desperately reassure her. "You are everything to me."

"But not enough."

"You are." He rubbed her hands. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Yet I specifically remember you telling that girl that you didn't care about me or the baby. You used the words; _Fuck her._"

Sonic dipped his head. "And I'm sorry about that. Nothing meant more to me than you and Seren." She whimpered when she heard their daughter's name. The pain was still very fresh to both of them. "We don't have to let this one stupid mistake ruin five years. We can move on from this. From all of this. We can do it together, you and me." He lifted her chin slightly so she would look at him. "I love you. I have only loved you. We've lost one another before, we don't have to let it happen again." He sat up slightly to bring their foreheads together.

He wanted nothing more than to have her by his side again. They had been through too much to just throw it away now. While he understood that would take awhile for her to fully trust him again, he was more than willing to do anything to gain it back.

His hand moved into her quills, fiddling with them tenderly just like she liked. He felt her quivering breath against his cheek. Looking into her eyes, he could see the vulnerability. Greatly hurt yet still wanting him. He fulfilled that desire by bringing her lips onto his, kissing her lightly. She kissed him back, instantly becoming infatuated in the moment.

Slowly, he pushed her back onto the bed, continuing their tender kiss. Her hands wrapped around him, bringing him closer to her. Their lips danced gingerly, gradually getting more passionate.

Wait. He still hadn't explained anything yet. That hog. He simply gave her sweet nothings and made his move on her, almost like he had taken advantage of her vulnerability. Amy broke the kiss, pushing him off of her. "Stop..." She sat up on the bed, feeling stupid for falling for his words. "There's so much that needs to be explained. You spent months avoiding me. You would barely touched me and were always going to these appointments... And that girl. Was she the same one I heard giggling through your communicator?"

He sat up beside her. "Yes. But me and her were just friendly acquaintances until... Anyway, I was going to appointments... I was seeing a therapist." She nodded for him to continue. "While I was there, I found out I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Amy looked bewildered. "What? But what from?"

"You know, my mother and stuff." He rubbed the tip of his nose out of nervousness. He didn't want to think about his family at a time like this.

"But you went to therapy three years ago. Didn't they pick anything up back then?" Sonic slowly turned his gaze. Noticing his coy attitude, she realised that wasn't the case. "Oh... Oh wow." She got up and paced around the room leisurely. "How long have you been lying to me?!"

"I didn't think it was a big deal! I wasn't ready to face my past back then and I didn't think I needed it."

"Sonic. You unleashed an evil version of yourself into the world! That is a pretty big deal!" She continued to pace around the room, trying to control her irritation. "Why couldn't you come to me? I am your partner. You seriously thought you couldn't come to me about something so serious?" She looked down in sorrow.

"I didn't want to stress you or the baby with my problems."

"So what triggered it exactly?" She asked with a demanding tone.

Her sudden switch in the conversation caught him off guard. "W-what?"

"I'm not stupid, Sonic. You've clearly had issues with your family for years but only suddenly you need help? What made you go through with it this time?"

Fuuuck. He knew this was where she was going to go ballistic. Having to tell her that he had regretted their beautiful girl at one point in the pregnancy, on the day of their beautiful girl's funeral was the worse time imaginable.

Although the way she was impatiently, expectantly staring at him, there was no other way of getting out of this.

"Sonic." She fumed.

He hung his head in shame. "I started having these panic attacks... After we found out about the pregnancy."

Amy looked puzzled by what he was telling her. "What is that supposed to mean exactly? That all your problems were caused by our baby?" Sonic placed his head into his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Sonic?" Amy felt herself close to tears once more. "Please... Please don't tell me I'm right."

"I'm sorry." He muttered, still refusing to look at her.

Just as he predicted, Amy's temper began to accelerated dramatically. She trembled with anger and disbelief. "You told me you wanted her! That we'd do this together! When were you going to tell me you didn't want our baby? When she was born? On her first birthday? When she was an adult?!" She exhaled shaky breaths as her chest heaved with heavy emotions. "We just buried her! Does that make you feel better? Are you fucking happy now?!"

He stood up and stood in front of her. "Of course I'm not. I loved her. I'll always love her." He was offended by her accusation. "I know I realised that when it was too late but she will always be my little girl."

"Yeah. The little girl you never wanted."

"Do you think it felt good to feel like that about my own child? I hated myself for months! That wasn't how I ever imagined I'd feel as a dad so I tried to fix that by getting the help I needed!"

"And you obviously got the treatment and the receptionist was a bonus!"

Running his hands through his quills, the blue hedgehog sighed heavily. "I don't even remember doing that with her!"

Amy laughed. "Oh come on, Sonic. That's your excuse? I expected more than that. You were drunk. You fell into her. Forgot you had sex with someone else? That's pretty pathetic."

"But I'm telling the truth! One minute, I was leaving the therapist's office. The next thing I know, I'm in the office with her and she's half naked."

"Well I remember what I saw AND what I heard. Zenith made sure that I captured every aspect to your little wild fling." Her smile was passive aggressive.

Hold on. How was Zenith even able to show her where he was? Did he set up cameras in the office? "How did you see what I did?"

Amy shrugged. "He opened some kind of portal on the ground using chaos control. He said he was gifted with the power of chaos by Chaos himself. What does it matter anyway?"

Chaos himself? Oh... He had been wondering when Dark was going to make his appearance. Looks like this dark counterpart had been behind the scenes the whole time. Giving Zenith power over chaos, possibly getting him to have sex with Staci... Yes, that made sense! He had no intentions of sleeping with anyone else and when he came round what seemed like a nap, the deed had been done. So that was it. His evil doppelganger had teamed up with the enemy to ensure he and Amy would split up. What would Dark gain by their separation though?

Sonic clicked his fingers from the realisation. "I've been set up."

Amy rolled her eyes. "For Chaos sake! How many times are you going to use that excuse?! First with Mitsy, now with Staci? Can't you just take responsibility?!"

"How do you think Zenith got that power? He doesn't have access to the Chaos Emeralds or the Master Emerald. He's been in prison for three years and suddenly he has powers like mine? Dark is clearly behind all this!"

She shook her head as she passed him. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" She smiled, hopelessly and filled with contempt. "Always blaming someone else for your mistakes." She turned back to face him, tears once again rolling down her cheeks. "Because you simply cannot do no wrong, can you? You're Sonic the hedgehog. And Sonic the hedgehog is just so perfect. Oh wait... Other than the mummy issues." She walked back towards him. "Oh poor me, mummy doesn't love me. I can see why she fucking left you now! You're a disappointment, Sonic! A walking distaster!" She stood in front of him, intimidatingly close as she had been before. "You should have died instead of Serenity." Her tone was poisoning, hitting him straight in his heart.

He lowered his head, furrowing his eyebrows in displeasure. "You're angry. I get it. I know you don't mean that..."

She scoffed. "I don't think truer words have ever been said in this pathetic excuse of a relationship! And while we're talking truths. I blame you for Serenity's death. If you hadn't been with that girl, we'd still have our daughter!" She had passed the line of caring for him. Her anger was all she could feel. "Your mother was right about one thing. They should have left you to die when they had the chance."

His adrenaline rushed through him in a fit of rage. Without thinking of his actions, he smacked her across her face, hard. She fell to the floor, grasping her cheek. She looked back at him with a horrified and shocked look on her face. Sonic gasped, realising what he had done. "Ames! I'm sorry!"

She slowly rose to her feet. "Get. Out." She ordered him.

"Amy, please. I'm really sorry."

"I said get out!" She screamed, pulling out her hammer, she began to smash everything around her. "Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"

Hearing the commotion above them, their friends bursted into the room to prevent Amy from destroying everything. They called out to her to try and make her see sense but the female hedgehog was far too hysterical to reason with. "Amy, you need to calm down." Tails attempted to calm the girl down.

Amy panted heavily in rage. "I want you all to get out. Now!" She threatened them with her hanmer. "Just get out!"

"Ames..." Sonic reached out for her.

Blinded by her anger, the pink hedgehog swung for her boyfriend. Shadow sped over to Sonic and grabbed him before Amy could land her attack. "GET OUT!" She screamed.

The team fled the house with Amy hot on their trail. Sonic had been the last to race out of the house, merely inches away from getting attacked by Amy. She slammed the front door on them and locked herself inside. "Amy!" Sonic called out to her. "Amy!"

"Sonic, it's no use." Silver grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. "She's out of control."

"Silver's right." Tails nodded. "We can't get to her when she's like this. Come back to the workshop. You can stay with me 'til she's cooled off a bit."

The hedgehog began to break down. "I should be in there with her. We just lost Seren. I can't lose her too."

"I know. I know. She just needs time." Tails patted his best friend's back and lead him away from the house. Sonic looked back at his home, terrified of what she would do on her own, in a vulnerable and angered state.

* * *

In the corner of the nursery, Amy sat huddled against the wall, holding a small teddy in hand. She gently rocked the soft toy back and forth in her arms like a baby. Her eyes burned from the amount of tears that she had cried that day and many more were to come.

She had lost everything. A week ago, she believed she had it all. A loving partner, a beautiful baby and boundless hope for the future. They'd be the happy family. The ideal family.

But there was nothing ideal about it. Everything they had was based on lies. Lies solely from Sonic. His attempts to "protect" her had ultimately caused the greatest betrayal. One they couldn't possibly bounce back from.

Her little perfect family. Just gone.

She looked around the nursery. It reflected her ideals too much. Too pure, too innocent, too perfect. That wasn't who they were anymore. and she hated it.

Enraged, she threw the teddy across the room, crying and sobbing loudly. She pulled out her hammer and proceeded to destroy all the furniture and decorations in the nursery. She tore, smashed and ripped through everything in sight until she noticed the sonogram pictures of Serenity at her twelve week scan. She picked up the picture and examined her little girl. "Seren..." She sobbed, collapsing to her knees in anguish. She clinged onto the pictures of her little girl and wailed on the nursery floor, letting all her pain out in her cries.

There was so much injustice. Whilst she mourned the loss of her baby, Zenith was still out there. He had gotten away with murder. Not for long though. If he wanted her, she was going right to him.

If he thought she was trouble before, he hadn't seen nothing yet. She was already a strong competitor. She'd be even stronger when she had nothing left to lose.


	10. Nothing to Lose

Chapter Ten: Nothing to Lose

"AAAHHH!" The green hedgehog screamed out as the steam radiated from his bare chest. The lights around them flickered as Dark used his torturous punishment on the criminal. Beads of sweat trickled down his abdomen from the days of long torture. Everyday brought a new form of punishment. Chained up, Scalding, whipping, tooth extraction, waterboarding, starvation and now branding. Dark's methods were slow and merciless. The more Zenith screamed, the more pain he received.

Dark laughed menacingly as he pressed the branding iron against Zenith's stomach. The male howled out in immense pain. "You have no idea how thrilled I was to find this iron. A 'D' as well. It just suits you so well. D for Dark... Maybe D for Dick. Hm... D for Disobedient." He flamboyantly twirled around in circles. "And to think? The electric still works in here? Oh This was just meant to be!" He pressed the branding iron to the man's shoulder, causing to once again scream out. "I love it when you scream for me." He mocked him in a flirtatious manner.

Zenith panted frequently. "I'm sorry!" He cried out.

"What was that? Sorry? What for exactly? Disobedience? Or killing my daughter?" He paced around in front of the hedgehog. "I knew trusting you with one simple task would be too much for you. Keep her here, keep her safe. That was TOO FUCKING HARD for you, wasn't it? Couldn't just stick to the plan. Ooooh no." He held the iron close to his eyes. "Thanks to you, my child is dead."

"I didn't mean it. I swear!" He stammered out. His voice shook violently in fear.

Dark shook his head. "I know she wasn't the size of a walrus but she had a pretty noticeable bump." He smiled passive aggressively. "You attacked her, knowing she was pregnant and killed my child. But, luckily for you, I am a reasonable guy. So instead of killing you straightaway, I have decided to kill you, slowly." He heated up the branding iron again and teased the hedgehog with it, hovering the iron over his burnt skin.

Zenith struggled within the chains. "Wait, wait, wait! I didn't want to hurt her! I was just teaching her a lesson!"

Dark tilted his head. "A lesson? Oh do teach me too!" Zenith was hesitant to answer. "I said teach me!" He held the iron back to his face.

"She was weak!" The green hedgehog shrieked. "I showed her the scene, just like you told me. But she refused to look at it! And then she acted repulsed by me, like I was to blame for everything!"

Dark couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Okay. Let me just process what you just told me. She rejected you... So she's the weak one?" Zenith remained silent. "Are you serious?" Dark laughed in disbelief. "She's weak for rejecting you? For that logic alone, you deserve this." He pressed the burning iron against the hedgehog's forehead, singeing his fur off.

"AAAAAHHH!" Zenith yelled out.

"Oooh yeah. Scream for me, baby!" Dark laughed maliciously.

"Dark!"

His ear twitched at the call of his name. He recognised that voice. Turning around, he saw a silhouette of a female appearing in the light. He squinted his eyes to try and see her more clearly. It was Amy. Grinning, Dark vanished and reappeared in front of her. "Amy Rose. It's been awhile. Have you missed me? I've missed you."

"Where is he?" She walked passed him and looked around the factory.

The demon looked up on the second floor where Zenith was being held captive. "I'm guessing you're talking about Zenith? He's a little tied up at the moment." He sniggered at his own joke. "Did you want to see him? I do warn you, he's a little sensitive after the little roast we had. Poor guy can't take a joke." He grabbed her arm and teleported both of them to Zenith. "Let me reintroduce the two of you. Amy, this is Dick. Dick, this is Amy."

She tried to hide her shock. The cocky disciple of Chaos had been reduced to a tormented, terrorised victim to Dark's torture. And boy, it was dark. She could barely recognise him anymore. His whole body was covered in D's, his fur had been burnt off, dry blood and sweat had long matted the remains of his fur and it seemed as though he was missing a few teeth. He looked horrifying.

Although there was no denying the satisfaction she was feeling. She came for justice and shockingly, Dark had beaten her to it. Why was he torturing him anyway? By Sonic's logic, Dark was on Zenith's side. What she was seeing proved otherwise.

Dark's hands rested on her shoulders as he stood behind her. "I can sense your hostility towards this pitiful example of a hedgehog. After everything he took from you. Don't you want vengeance? Justice? Don't you just want to cut his guts out and wrap them around your his neck and choke him? Flay him alive?" He dashed in front of the chained up hedgehog and grabbed the nearby branding iron. He held it towards his private area. "Shall I burn off his cock and make him eat it?"

Amy cringed at the forms of torture Dark had suggested. This version of Sonic couldn't be anymore different to the original. He was eccentrically vivacious. Psychogenically twisted. The way he was teasing the wriggling, terrified hedgehog with the branding iron and laughing at his pleas was sadistic to say the least. But this was theoretically a demon they were dealing with. If Zenith truly had gotten his powers from Dark, he really should have known better than to double cross him.

"Actually that's not entirely what I came for." She told the dark hedgehog. He turned back to her, intrigued. She approached him slowly. "I've come to join you."

He blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"I have given my all to the people of this world, to Sonic... And look where it got me? Betrayed, heartbroken... Childless." She looked over at Zenith with her hatred for him all over her face. She turned back to Dark. "Giving my all to being good has gotten me nowhere. I want to take my chances on the Dark side." She got close to him, smiling suggestively at him.

A grin appeared on his lips. Looking at Zenith, he could see the pain in his eyes almost doubling the pain of his body. Smirking, he turned back to the pink hedgehog. "Heh. Well, this is unexpected... Not that I'm complaining." He glanced back at the green hedgehog once more. Taking pleasure from his misery, he placed his hands on Amy's waist and pulled the girl close. "What about Sonic and the rest of the goodie group?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "They don't know I'm here. But me and Sonic are over. He's spineless. Weak. But you, you've always been the stronger side of him." She placed her hand on his cheek. "Let me be yours and we'll be unstoppable."

Dark could see the mixed emotions in her eyes. Anger, grief, sadness and lust. He inhaled deeply, taking in all her negative energy. He grinned. "You make it pretty hard to resist an offer like that." He moved in close to her and kissed her lustfully.

The kiss was completely different to Sonic's. Dark was aggressive. From the moment his lips touched hers, it was deep, raunchy. Sonic's kiss was more passionate and loving. Far less wild than Dark.

With Zenith whimpering and trying to avoid seeing his beloved rose kissing another man, Amy made sure to accommodate Dark's level of passion by enthusiastically returning the favour.

Dark reluctantly broke the kiss, making sure to see Zenith's devastated reaction as he pulled away. "Can you commit yourself to me?" He asked her, his voice low and seducing.

"Yes."

"Will give yourself to me? Every bit of you?"

"Yes."

Dark chuckled. "Good girl." He pecked her lips once more. "Come. We have much to do."

"Wait." She turned to face Zenith once more. "I still have unfinished business with him." Her voice was stern. She picked up the hot branding iron and pressed it against Zenith's private area, making sure to forcibly push it against his body.

Zenith's screams echoed through the factory as the love of his life tortured him with as much mercy as Dark had. The demon watched in amazement at the girl's ruthlessness. "Oh man, I'm in love." He chuckled to himself. "Hope you like your meat well done, Zenith! That'll be your dinner!" Dark sniggered as he stood by and watched Amy torture her stalker.

* * *

**BANG BANG BANG**

"Amy! Amy!" Sonic hammered his fist on the front door. Despite having a key to the house, he decided to respect her privacy by not infiltrating on her. He also wanted to keep away from that hammer of hers. Chaos only knew how close he was to becoming a blue and black hedgehog.

He stepped back to look up at the house. After waiting for ten minutes for her to answer the door to him, he was growing impatient. He had endured enough suffering to put up with anymore of Amy's drama. Yes, she was mourning and yes, she was angry. But so was he!

On the day of their baby's funeral, he had to bear saying goodbye to his daughter and then suffered the lose of his girlfriend. He had lost everything and once again, it was all due to a misunderstanding.

No doubt he had lied but cheated? He was certain that Dark had something to do with it. It wasn't the first time Dark would have possessed him. Before they became two different entities, Dark had possessed him and destroyed a large part of the city and even killed Doctor Eggman. He wouldn't be surprised if Dark had possessed him again and made Zenith show Amy what he was doing whilst in his body. After sitting up in bed all night just thinking about it, he was convinced he had been set up.

If only he could convince the only person who should naturally just believe him without question.

Okay, maybe a little bit of questioning after all the lies he had told but come on, this was the girl he had grew up with, fell in love with, made a home with and did pretty much everything with. After all the things they had gone through, she still didn't trust him enough to hear him out.

That kind of pain, added to grief, was unbearable.

"Amy!" He called out for a final time. No answer. He growled. That was it. Fuck the hammer to the head and fuck her silent treatment. He was going to talk to her whether she wanted to hear it or not. Pulling out his key from his back quills, he opened the front door and searched the house for his girlfriend.

Downstairs had luckily survived her rage. A few slanted pictures here and there but hardly any damage overall. The damage was mainly in their bedroom and nursery. He stood in the middle of what would be their daughter's room and looked at the devastation. It was a shattering scene. The beautiful dream that would be their daughter growing up in this bedroom had been destroyed by the reality and grief of their situation.

All the furniture and decorations had been dismembered and broken. The only thing that had been completely unscathed was the scan pictures that were left on the floor. Sonic picked up the picture and admired it. Oh Serenity. If only she was with them now.

Where was Amy anyway? She clearly wasn't in the house anymore. Being the lose cannon she was yesterday, he wasn't sure she was safe on her own. Pulling out his communicator, he tracked her location.

His eyes widened when he saw where she was. The factory. Zenith must have gotten to her again! "Shit!" He cursed out of fear and frustration. There was no way he was losing someone else he loved to that hedgehog. He clicked on his communicator to contact the team. "Gang. We have a situation! Zenith's got Amy. Get to the old factories, now!" He clicked 0ff the conference call and darted out of the house. There was no time to lose. Zenith had already proven to be remorseless to babies, what else could he do to Amy?

* * *

Sonic was seeing red. Having killed their baby, Zenith was really pushing his luck. Well not anymore. If that hedgehog laid so much as a finger on his girl, he'd finish him. He was hardly considered a Mobian at this point. He was a mere subspecies. Therefore killing him wouldn't necessarily be murder. It was more like exterminating vermin.

"We're in sight of the factories, Sonic." Tails said through the communicator. Sonic looked up to see the X Tornado flying above him.

"Nice timing, bud. You guys are getting good at this catching up business." He smirked as he picked up his pace. "I'd say our best tactic would be to attack from all angles. Silver, Blaze, head in through the back entrance. Shadow and Knuckles, centrefold. Sky team, you know what to do." He leapt through a window on the second floor of the factory, landing on his feet.

The team shortly followed. The sound of metal clashing on the floor could be heard as Blaze and Silver made their entrance through the back of the building. She had burnt their way through, displaying her flames in hand as her eyes glowed with burning fury. Shadow used chaos control to teleport his way to the middle of the factory. Knuckles dug up from underground not too far away from Shadow. They surveyed the surrounding area. Tails, Rouge and Cream came through the roof, landed on the top floor.

It was dark. Far too dark to find Amy easily. Sonic spoke quietly into the communicator for the female cat's assistance. "Blaze, do you mind?"

She sent fireballs in all directions. Turning to Silver, she stepped back and allowed him to use his telekinesis to keep the fireballs stable.

He looked around on the second floor, being mindful of all the broken floorboards. He heard a groan. A low groan. Alarmed, the hedgehog prepared himself to attack and turned towards the sound. "What the--"

Zenith. The bastard was barely conscious. What on Mobius happened to him? Sonic took a step back, visibly taken back by the hedgehog's appearance. It was like something from a horror movie. The fact that they were in an abandoned factory with barely any light made the whole scene more frightening.

The lights came on, startling the blue leader and his team. They all looked around to see who had flicked the lights on. It was Dark, standing on the edge of the second floor, facing Sonic. "Sonic." He grinned at the blue hedgehog.

"Where is Amy?" Sonic questioned the demon with a serious tone of voice.

"Long time no see. I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are you?" Dark impersonated him and Sonic in a civil conversation. "God. It's been three years and all you and Amy do is barge in here and don't even say hello. This is my home! The least you can do is be polite."

Wait, Amy came here by her own will? "I said, where is she?"

Dark helplessly sighed. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you this but... Amy's dead."

Sonic's heart skipped a beat. "What?" He muttered in horror. His quills spiked in rage. "What?!" He growled out, echoing through the factory.

Dark sniggered at Sonic's anger. "Easy, boy. So quick to get hot headed. What I was meant to say was, the Amy you knew, is dead." He chuckled at Sonic's confused expression. "Allow me to introduce..." He leapt into the air and landed on the first floor. "The one, the only... Azalea!" He pointed towards the sleeping quarters of the factory.

Stepping out from the secluded section, the familiar pink hedgehog approached her friends. She stood with her hand on her hip, smirking deviously.

"Amy!" Sonic jumped down in front of the pink hedgehog. He was rather surprised by her attire. A dark purple high neck grecian gown with slits on the sides, revealing her hips. The dress was backless, exposing her slender back. Sonic looked her up and down in confusion. How many times was this girl going to make other men dress her? He brushed off the new outfit and pulled on her arm. "Come on. We're getting you out of here."

Azalea pulled away from Sonic, "Hmph." She placed her hands on her hips.

Sonic was surprised to see her rejecting him. "Ames, we really don't have time for this! Just come on!"

Dark appeared next to the female. "I told you. Amy is gone. It's Azalea now."

Sonic looked disgruntled towards his evil doppelganger before turning back to Azalea. "We're leaving. Now." He told her in a stern voice.

"Hmm... Oh yes, that was what I was going to tell you... She ain't yours anymore, Sonic." Dark smirked as the blue hedgehog fully turned to him with great disdain across his face. Wrapping his arms around Azalea's waist, he pulled her close. "She's mine now. Isn't that right, precious?"

She wrapped her arms around him and looked up at the dark hedgehog. "Yes, Master." She giggled as he leaned down to kiss her. Just as lustful as the last, she playfully bit his lip as they parted.

Sonic watched on in horror. That was his girlfriend, all over another guy. Albeit, him in dark form but he and Dark were now two very different people. Amy had just betrayed him.

And not only had she betrayed him, she had also betrayed their team. Enraged, he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same question."

"Him? You're with him?!"

"Yes! Yes I am! Not that it's your business."

He felt his quills spiking along with his frustration. "We came here to save you!"

The pink hedhehog stepped back until she was back in Dark's arms. "Unfortunately for you. You'll all be the ones that need saving."

Dark laugh menacingly as he faded from her side. The girl dropped to her knees, just below the edges of the broken floorboards above. "I'm ready for you, Master." She stretched out her hands and looked up towards the ceiling. The team stood by, uncertain of what was happening. They looked up to see Dark appear above Azalea.

"Geronimo!" He leapt off the edge and faded into the black mass. The smog slivered into Azalea's body. She struggled and grunted as the powerful being took over her body.

"A-Amy..." Sonic gasped as he witnessed his lover being possessed by his evil counterpart.

Her once jade eyes had faded away. With a menacing smirk, the possessed female rose to her feet. "I'm a woman!" Dark spoke through Amy's voice. He pulled the fabric away from her neck and looked down the dress. He chortled. "Oh yeah, definitely a woman! Ha!" Twirling around in the dress, Azalea cheered enthusiastically. "Look at me! Don't I look fabulous?!" She turned to Sonic. "What do you think, Sonic? Not bad for someone who just had a baby."

"Let Amy go, Dark!" Sonic demanded. His anger and hatred was radiating from him.

"It's Azalea..." She rolled her eyes. "Amy willingly sacrificed herself. She came here, wanting vengeance on all that have done her wrong. She begged me to make her mine. Practically on her knees, if you know what I mean, Sonic?" She winked with devious intent.

That remark got Sonic's temper flaring. "You son of a bitch!"

Azalea faked a gasp, pretending to be afraid. "Oh you're not gonna hurt little old me, are you?" She laughed. "I know you, Sonic. You can't hurt me when I'm in _her_ body."

Dark was right. Even if it was him speaking through her body, he couldn't bring himself to ever harm her. She was still in there, consciously dormant. "I will get her back." He growled.

"Yeah? Well I'd like to see you try!" The girl created chaos spears in her hands and shot them at the freedom fighters. They dodged the attacks but were wary on attacking the pink hedgehog.

"What do we do, Sonic?" Tails called out to the leader.

"We can't hold back forever!" Knuckles yelled as he and the rest of the team continued to dodge the multitude of Azalea's attacks.

Sonic held back on giving an immediate answer. His eyes glanced over at the pink hedgehog, witnessing her laughing like a maniac as she used the power of chaos to attack him and their friends. How could she have done this? To join the bad guys and go as far as to become Dark's lover? It was too much to handle.

And there was still more to face. Not only did he have to push his grief for his daughter aside and now the anguish of seeing his lover with another man, he was going to have to fight her in order to save her.

He gritted his teeth as the pressure got to him. As much as he wanted to save her, he was uncertain if she could survive all of them attacking her at once. Seeing his team struggling to combat the attacks, he had no other choice but to issue the order.

"Attack."


	11. Down With the Dark Side

Chapter Eleven: Down with the Dark Side

The battle was proving to be more challenging than they had originally predicted. Wielding chaos energy like a sorceress, the pink hedgehog took on the team without breaking a sweat. To make it more difficult, she was protected from physical attacks by a force field. The only way they could get to her was through chaos energy and fire.

Shadow and Blaze were propelling fireballs and chaos spears at the forcefield. Despite their own formidable power, their attacks were barely penetrating the shield.

"This is ridiculous!" Knuckles growled. "How are we suppose to get Amy back when we can barely get through her defences?"

"We can't keep this up forever." Blaze panted, already feeling her energy depleting.

Sonic balled his fist as he watched the possessed girl sending out more attacks. He was still partially in denial. How could she do this? To the team? To him? In all years he had known her, she was the last person he expected to betray him.

Then again, it wasn't the first time she had picked another man over him. Whenever Sonic was in the spotlight to be framed, Amy just seemed to bounce on the opposite side and refuse to believe him.

Once again, he was made to question her loyalty to him. While he knew his own actions could be questioned, his motives had her best interests involved.

He couldn't say the same for her.

The anger brewed within him. She had willingly seeked out his demonic counterpart and submitted herself to him. Had she not considered her own safety? She had put herself and everyone in danger and he had no idea how to get her back.

Azalea giggled, looking over to Sonic with her wicked smile. "Oh Sonic. You little minx. You're spoiling me with all this power." She laughed. Her power became stronger and her attacks more aggressive.

Sonic growled. What was that supposed to mean? How was he providing her with more power? Eugh this was hopeless! No matter what they did, Dark was just getting stronger.

"Sonic!" Tails jumped beside the leader. "You gotta calm down! Your anger is powering her!"

"Huh?" He turned to his buddy. Oh right of course. Negative energy powered the demon. He remembered his breathing technique from therapy and breathed deeply and slowly until he was back to his calm self. "Thanks buddy. At least we know Dark's power source now."

"We still need to find his weakness. Even though we don't want to hurt Amy, we can't save her without weakening Dark." Tails said.

The blue leader watched the pink hedgehog expell the chaos spears in all directions. "There has to be another way." Physical attacks were out. That force field was draining both Blaze and Shadow with it's persistent endurance. They had defeated Dark before. When they defeated him the first time it was...

Through a subconscious link through chaos.

That was it! To get to Amy, he would have to reach her through a subconscious link. But where to begin? From what Amy had told him, she had touched chaos and it had reacted to her, knocking her out in the process. So if he was to use chaos control right before he was knocked out...

"I have an idea." He told the fox before dashing near to Shadow and Knuckles. "I need one of you to knock me out."

The two males turned to him in confusion. "I'm sure I can oblige. What are you planning?" Shadow asked.

He pulled out a chaos emerald from his back quills. "If I can use chaos control right before I'm unconscious, I can create a subconscious link to get to Amy."

"Well what are waiting for?! Get on with it!" Knuckles demanded.

Azalea turned to Sonic and his team. "You can't fall asleep on me Sonic the hedgehog!" She sent chaos spears and spheres towards them. Silver jumped in the way, stopping her attacks with his telekinesis and sent them back at her, damaging her force field. She recoiled. "How dare you hit a woman!" She yelled at the silver hedgehog before aiming her attacks at him.

"Keep that up Silver!" Sonic told the futuristic male. He pulled out the chaos emeralds and began to channel the energy through him. The emeralds danced around him, gradually spinning vigorously as he used the energy to create the link. "Now!"

Shadow swung his arm back before punching the blue leader in the jaw, sending him flying across the factory and into a pile of debris. Azalea watched as Sonic landed in the rubble and bricks. "Noo!" She screamed. She ran towards him, checking to see if he was unconscious. To her displeasure, he was out cold. "What have you done?!" She shrieked. She stood up and walked towards the freedom fighters, both hands containing dark chaos energy. "Now you've made me angry!" She attacked the team with dark energy. The dark energy exploded around them, causing debris from the walls and floors above to fall to the ground.

"I hope they could solve their problems before we get crushed!" Knuckles said as he braced himself for the falling debris.

* * *

Sonic awoke in a long forgotten darkness. Getting up from the ground, the hedgehog held onto his jaw instinctively. A faint pain was barely present. He shrugged it off and looked around. Amy had to be somewhere.

"I knew you'd show up here." Amy appeared behind him with an emotionless expression on her face.

The blue hedgehog turned to his lover. "Amy." Despite the pain he felt in her betrayal, he was overjoyed to see she was okay. He breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled, unsure what to do with himself. While he was thrilled to see her, he had to keep his guard up. She was an enemy now. His forbidden love.

She looked around into the shadow abyss. "So... Here we are again. You, me and Dark, wandering through the darkness of one another's minds. Who'd thought I'd be batting for the other side? Life is really full of surprises."

"You don't have to do this, Amy. We can stop all this now and get through the grief together."

She crossed her arms. "That doesn't quite cut it for me."

"Then what do you want?"

"I assumed you heard Dark telling you? I want vengeance! Revenge for our child!"

Sonic scowled at her. "And you're willing to sacrifice everything for a moment of satisfaction? You'll willingly give up your body, freedom, everyone you care about and overall your life, just for that little piece of glory?" She looked away from him, reluctant to answer. "And what about Seren? Do you really think she'd want to see her mother turning against everyone for revenge? You're good, Amy. Serenity is good! She wouldn't want you to do this!"

"Says the guy who never even wanted her! What do you know about her?! You never bonded with her, felt her kicks, felt her hiccups. I carried her, not you! I wanted her more than anything in this world! And now--" She held back her sobs. "I will get my revenge!"

"Your anger is helping Dark destroy our friends! They're getting ripped apart out there. Is that really what you want?"

She stepped forward until she was mere inches away from him. "It's like I've always told you. We must make sacrifices to do the right thing."

He was about to confront her when Dark appeared in front of them. Amy smirked as he held out his hand for her. She accepted, placing her hand in his and standing by his side. "Nice of you to join us, Sonic."

Sonic growled at his dark doppelganger. "I've come for Amy. I'm not leaving without her."

Dark rolled his eyes. "I don't think you're getting it. Amy has **chosen me**. That means she won't be going anywhere with you."

He turned to his girlfriend, desperate for her to come to her senses. Their friends were more than likely getting destroyed thanks to her tag teaming with the demon. And more importantly, her choosing Dark over him was excruciating. Just seeing her hand in his was killing him. "Amy..." He breathed through the pain in his chest. "You are the only one who can stop this. I know that pain you are feeling. This unbearable pain that feels like your heart is being ripped apart. It may not seem like it'll pass but it will. In time, we'll be able to live without this ache."

She looked at him sincerely before looking away and pretending to be unfazed.

Dark groaned. "This is getting pretty dull now. She is with me. End of discussion." He pulled Amy close and watched as Sonic looked away in disapproval. The demon grinned. "Perhaps you'll take her word instead?" He let go of Amy's hand. "Go ahead, babe."

Amy stepped in front of Sonic. For a moment, she stared into his eyes, seeing all the pain she had put him through. She looked down momentarily then back into his eyes. "I am sorry. Really, I am."

"You still have a choice. Come on, Ames. Just think about what you're doing. Think about us!" He grabbed her hands and held them dearly. "I love you. You know that."

Dark rolled his eyes. "Give me a break..."

Sonic ignored the demon and continued to persuade Amy. "Just come with me and we'll get through this together."

"And forget the man who killed our baby? Really? You're just gonna let him go?" Dark approached Amy from behind, hanging over her shoulder whilst glaring at Sonic.

"_Our_ baby?" Sonic glared back at Dark. "Sorry, I don't quite remember you being there when she was conceived."

"We're connected, Sonic. Your baby is my baby. Whether you like it or not, a part of me lives within you." The demonic hedgehog sneered.

Amy chuckled. "And Sonic resides in you." She turned to Dark, trying to stifle her laughter. "I'm sorry. This isn't funny at all... I'm just surprised how far I've gotten without getting killed." Both males stared at her, genuinely confused by her laughter. She giggled to herself. "I said wanted revenge. I admit that I wasn't sure if the revenge was being aimed at the right person. First, I needed proof. With that little bit of proof, I'd be able to defeat the enemy once and for all."

Dark looked at Sonic before looking back at the pink hedgehog. "Heh, you've lost me. Care to elaborate?"

"Sonic and I had a fight yesterday. I mentioned the way I saw him kissing that girl. Lustful. Aggressive. Nothing like the way he kisses me. So I experienced that kiss for myself. From you. It's no secret that you can possess other mortals. Sonic just happened to be one of those unfortunate few." Dark's sneer vanished, being replaced with a scowl. "So with that form of evidence, I was able to decide who my enemy was."

His sneer returned. "Ohhh." He laughed hysterically. "Oh you are a little minx aren't you? You planned this." He laughed even harder. "That was good. Really good. You actually got me there!" He sighed, wiping a false tear from his eye. "If that's how you're gonna play, then let's do this baby!" He brought dark chaos to his hands and charged at the girl.

"Amy!" Sonic pulled the girl into his arms and back flipped the pair away from Dark. They landed on their feet, crouched low to the ground. Sonic turned to the pink hedgehog, flabbergasted by the sudden events. "You... You planned this?"

She hesitated to nod. Hearing the roars of the dark hedgehog, the couple focused on the demon charging at them in the darkness. Amy stood up and got in front of Sonic.

"Amy, no!" Sonic reached out to grab her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, the girl channelled her emotions, releasing them onto Dark. Dark felt the tightening feeling in his chest, causing him to fall to the ground. He grunted and wheezed as the tightening pain made it hard to breathe. "I did wonder how I would get back at you for what you did. I wanted to see you burn. Feel the pain I was going through. What better way to kill a demon who feasts on hate than love?"

Dark struggled to get up as the pain burned through his body. "N-no. This isn't right."

"I was able to suppress my emotions just enough for you to see nothing but my hatred. With Sonic here, I was able to use the subconscious link to connect with your emotions and find that part of Sonic that was hidden away inside you. There, I found your last piece of humility. Your love for Serenity. You're grieving too." Amy looked down at the fallen demon.

Dark wheezed and heaved. "S-She was the key to ultimate power. With her by my side..." He wheezed again. "Our power would be infinite."

Amy shook her head. "So you told yourself. Because that little bit of love inside you had always been your weakness." Amy turned towards Sonic, taking his hand in hers. "I used to think that my love for you made me seem weak, undisciplined, crazy. But now, it's my main strength." She turned back to Dark. "Which is why you have never liked me. I have the power to destroy you."

Dark coughed violently. Realising he was at his end, he looked up at Amy and smiled. "Will I be with her? With Serenity?"

Amy nodded back at him. "Always." He chuckled softly, accepting his fate. The pink hedgehog turned back to Sonic and hesitantly moved closer to him. "Sonic..."

"Let's get out of here." He told her. His tone of voice was monotonous, bringing Amy great unease. She nodded nervously, bringing their lips together gingerly. The kiss was one sided to begin with. With Amy tenderly caressing his lips with her own. Sonic efforts to return the kiss was understandably reluctant. After everything she had done to bring Dark down, her lack of communication had most likely shattered him in the process.

Her hands trailed into his quills, massaging them just like he liked in order to soften him. He still showed sign of reluctance but gradually, he gave into the kiss and released his relief and burning passion.

Feeling the power of their love, Dark grunted and wheezed as the pain in his chest constricted his breathing. He continued to pant and wheeze through the pain until he slowly began to slip away. "I'm coming... Daddy's little princess..." He whispered to himself before the life left his body.

**SHHHHIIIIIINNNGGG**

* * *

Sonic shot up and turned towards the screaming, contorting Amy. He jumped up and rushed over to the fatigued team as they watched the girl contort and struggle under the exorcism.

"Stay back!" Sonic ordered. He stood in front of the fighters. They watched as the demon left the girl's body in a black mass and filled the air. Sonic rushed forward and closed his eyes, channeling the demon back to where he belonged. The black mass shot into him, causing him to grunt uncomfortably. The demon was finally put to rest in his creator.

Amy slowly got up from the ground. She looked over her shoulder at the group. Their eyes all focused on her. Even Sonic had daggered eyes on her. She couldn't bring herself to turn back to them. Knowing she had gone behind their back, destroyed her friendships and relationship by tag teaming with Dark. On the other hand, she believed their lack of understanding was important in taking down Dark. With that demon out of the way, they just had to eliminate the final enemy.

"There's one more to take down." She said as she looked up towards the second floor where Zenith was chained. Without a second more, the girl stormed her way up the stairs, towards her stalker. He was awake, groaning and grunting from the pain. Upon seeing the girl heading towards him, he became uneased and panicked.

Sonic raced up the stairs with the team shortly following. They found Amy holding a knife close to Zenith's neck. The green hedgehog yelped. "Please! Have mercy!"

"Like you had mercy for me? My child? I should have let Sonic kill you all those years ago when he had the chance!" She held the blade close to his throat, causing him to yelp once more.

Sonic dashed to the girl's side. "Amy. You're not a killer..."

"I never saw myself as the enemy and I've proved that anything is possible. **This** will be my final act of justice. Serenity's justice." She applied more pressure to his neck yet still held hesitation.

Her lover approached her with caution. "Think about the consequences, Amy. Can you honestly say you can live with the guilt?"

She looked towards him, her eyes dancing from the tears in her eyes. She turned back to Zenith with an angry, determined look on her face. Eventually she backed away, placing the knife in Sonic's hand.

Zenith sighed and chuckled with relief. "Oh... Oh thank you so much!" He sighed once more and looked to the ceiling with gratitude.

Sonic turned back to face him, visibly disgusted by the hedgehog's happiness. Looking down at the knife in his hand, he flipped it up and down as if contemplating. In swift motion, he slashed the knife across the green hedgehog's neck. "I can live with it." He said coldly.

Horrified, Zenith's eyes widened from the shock before his whole body became limb. His eyes became dull as the life drained from him instantly.

Sonic dropped the knife and walked passed the astounded team. "Evacuate. I'm gonna burn this place to the ground."

* * *

Onlooking the flaming factory, the freedom fighters stood nearby, gawping as the flames slowly brought the crumbling factory to the ground.

Their battle with the stalker was finally at an end. Even when he was gone, Sonic still couldn't help but feel like Zenith had won. His goal had always been to split him and Amy apart. Ultimately, he had gotten what he wanted.

Sonic looked over at the pink hedgehog. He was still pissed. How she had literally sacrificed everything, broken everything and now stood by with nothing to say. There was so much that needed explaining. So much that had to be said.

She eventually turned to him, still remaining emotionless. She blinked a few times before turning around. "Guess we should all go home then?" She shrugged lightly.

Bothered by her lack of remorse or anything infact, Sonic walked over to Amy and grabbed her arm harshly. "You're coming with me." He gripped even tighter as he pulled her along the path.

"Ow! Sonic... You're hurting me!" Amy gasped as he only gripped tighter when she struggled.

"Sonic?" Tails called him. The hedgehog's actions that night had proven to be major red flags. Was this Dark present?

Sonic turned to his friends. "We need to talk. Good work today team. I suggest you all head home now."

"Are you going to be alright?" Knuckles stepped forward.

He nodded in response. "There's a lot to get through. Don't worry. We'll sort this." He grabbed the girl and carried her in his arms. Racing down the path, he headed back to their home. With all the commotion that happened tonight, he wasn't completely sure if he could call their house his home anymore.

* * *

**AN: I can't say I enjoyed writing this chapter. At all. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it a little more than I did.**


	12. My Dearly Beloved

Chapter Twelve: My Dearly Beloved

Focused on the destination, Sonic kept his eyes forward, refusing to acknowledge the occasional stares his girlfriend was giving him. The sooner they talked about their issues, the better.

He wasn't going to go easy on her. If anything, he had been too easy on her. Spoilt her even. So much so, she seemed to believe her little plan would have no consequences.

Amy held her breath. She couldn't remember the last time Sonic had been this mad with her. Actually, this was no doubt the most angry she had seen him. Of course she had seen him get frustrated with her but that appeared to be miniscule compared to how he was right now. When she had enough courage to look up at him, she was met with same deep scowl he had at the factory. He refused to even look at her. Gulping, she buried her head into his chest to protect her face from the heavy winds slamming into them due to Sonic's high speeds.

Coming to a halt outside their home, Sonic placed Amy on the ground and grabbed her arm again. He forced her towards the door. "Open it." He ordered her, still refraining to look at her. Not wanting to see him get angrier, she did as she was told. Unlocking the door, she was quickly shuffled in by the blue hedgehog. He locked the door behind them and finally looked at her. "Sit down."

Sitting on the sofa, Amy watched as he walked in front of her and crossed his arms. "What you did was completely irresponsible and reckless! What were you thinking?"

She looked down at her lap. "I don't know." She muttered.

"You don't know? You put yourself in a position that could've got yourself killed. Not only did you endanger yourself, you also put everyone at risk for this plan of yours to work."

"But it did work!" His girlfriend looked up at him. "With both Dark and Zenith gone, we don't have to worry about them ever again."

"That's not the point! The point is, you could've gotten seriously hurt or worse. How far were you planning to go anyway? If I hadn't tracked your communicator, we wouldn't have any idea where you were! With Dark in total control over you, you could've destroyed the city!"

"I didn't because I knew you would come for me."

Sonic rubbed his temples. "How? How did you know I would make it on time? What makes you so sure that you wouldn't have been consumed by Dark before we got to you?"

His tone of voice was disciplinary, much like his stature; cross armed and towering over her. This was the leader of the freedom fighters talking to her, not her boyfriend. It had been awhile since this Sonic had spoken to her. She was so used to his soft, honeyed words, his current attitude towards her was intimidating. She kept her head down. "I told Dark to wait for you. Dramatic effect and all..."

"Was that before or after he had his tongue down your throat?" He asked, his tone filled with bitterness and envy.

She knew that was coming. Determined to make him see her point of view, she looked straight into his eyes. "I did what I had to do to carry out my plan. Yes, I kissed him. I disgraced you in front of our friends, but it was simply for the mission. I swear."

The pain of her actions were visible on his features. "Just for the mission or as an act of payback against me?"

She looked away in shame. "I don't know... Maybe." She lied. Sonic frowned, staring at her intensely for the truth. Amy eventually looked back at him with remorse. "Alright. It was partial revenge too. But I only kissed him. That's pretty minor compared to having sex with someone, don't you think?" She retaliated the questioning in defense.

"Yeah, you're right... Only the main difference is I didn't consciously cheat on you. Dark had possessed me to do it. I had no control. You purposely sought him out and cheated. Even made sure the whole team and I saw your actions."

"Because Dark wouldn't have believed I was joining him unless he saw me disrespect you!" Amy got up from the sofa and stood in front of her lover. "I couldn't allow him to see my true feelings or else I would have gotten killed."

She had a point there yet he was unwilling to let her get away with her actions. "You were better off not going ahead with the plan. It was too risky. You said so yourself that you were surprised to have gotten so far." He scoffed to himself at the thought of her plan being improvised. "Did you even think it through?" To his surprise, she looked away once more. His eyes widened to the realisation. "You..." He uttered a shaky breath. "You went to both of them, knowing what they're capable of, without a thought out plan?"

She avoided eye contact. Her emotions began to surface as the tears formed in her eyes. Biting her lip, she nodded in response to his question.

Sonic paced around with his hands running through his quills, trying to hold back his anger. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He blurted out, unable to keep his cool.

The tears trickled down her face. "I wasn't thinking straight..." She swallowed hard.

"Damn right you weren't. You could have gotten killed."

"And I would've welcomed it!" She cried out. Her face filled with regret upon realising what she had said.

"What?" Sonic stuttered in shock. He watched as Amy slumped back on the sofa with her head in her hands. She went to Dark and Zenith without a thought out plan because she didn't care if she died? "I-I don't understand... You wanted to die? But what about me? Didn't you think about how that would affect me?"

"No." She answered emotionlessly. "I didn't think about you. I didn't think about anyone... I just..." The familiar pain in her chest caused her to hold her chest and sob loudly. "I just wanted the pain to go away." She inhaled deeply, trying to breathe regularly passed her tightened chest. "It hurts so much, I can barely breathe. I just wanted it to go away. I thought... If I died, maybe I could be with her again. And after the fight over you potentially cheating, I had nothing to lose from then on."

Sonic sat on the arm of the sofa and looked down at the ground before him. "I couldn't bare to lose both of you." He turned to look at her. "I feel that pain too, you know? The feeling as though you're no longer living, you're just breathing. A shell that feels both empty yet overflowing with this pain. Everything's just been replaced by this... void. And yet, you want to cling onto that pain for dear life because that pain is another memory of her that you don't want to fade."

She grasped his hand. "I know." She swallowed hard. "I know and I'm sorry for everything I said about you. I was angry and irrational." She rubbed his hand in a loving gesture. "I just didn't understand why you couldn't come to me and tell me about your problems. We've always shared our issues. Why couldn't you come to me about how you felt about the pregnancy?"

Sonic turned to face her with a serious look on his face. "If I had told you that I wasn't ready for a baby, that I wanted you to abort her, would you have done it? Would you have done it and forgiven me for insisting such a big decision on you?" Seeing her look coyly, he knew her answer. "I saw that look in your eyes when you told me you were pregnant. Fear of what I'd say, hope that I'd want the baby just as much as you. I wanted you to be happy. Everything I did was for you to be happy."

She smiled momentarily before she furrowed her eyebrows in doubt. "But you made me feel like I was disgusting. For weeks, you wouldn't touch me. I felt so unwanted and unlovable... And you have such a high libido, I couldn't help but think you were getting your thrills from elsewhere."

"You seem to think that of me too often..." She looked back at him, mildly offended yet intrigued by his comment. Sonic sighed. "We've been in this situation before. I get framed with some girl and you instantly believe the gossip." He faced her. "I have only ever loved you. I'm sorry that I didn't show it so much during the pregnancy but I couldn't be faced with your bump knowing the cause of all my past trauma coming back was in there. And no, it wasn't Serenity's fault either. If I had sorted my issues out, I would have loved every moment she was here. That's one of the biggest regrets in my life." Realising he had sidetracked from his original point, he shook his head. "I am loyal to you. Only you. When you're constantly believing the people who've framed me, it hurts. Are we not stronger than that?"

"Yes Sonic. But you need to also understand my perspective. You neglect me for weeks, I hear you with some girl and then I find out that you slept with her. Maybe not intentionally but when I found out, I wasn't to know it was Dark's fault. You were giving me all the signs of cheating."

"Didn't you think to give me a chance to explain myself rather than jumping on the blame wagon?"

"I did. I confronted you on my concerns in the megastore. You told me that you were being faithful and I believed you. I thought our little adventure in the store proved that."

Sonic chuckled slightly. "Alright, you have a point there." A light blush appeared across his cheeks at the memory. "But what about the last time? You know, with Mitsy. You believed Zenith over me."

"You're really gonna bring that up?" She questioned with irritation in her voice. "We've been over this before and that has nothing to do with what's happened now."

"Only it does." He told her, getting up from his position on the sofa arm and going back to pacing around. "You freak out the moment another girl is close to me. Mitsy and now Staci. If I hadn't been possessed by Dark, I wouldn't have looked twice at Staci. And Mitsy? You ran off with another guy literally an hour after the big fight. For Chaos sake, Amy, how am I supposed to make you see that I only love you when you are so quick to leave my side for the other team the minute I'm in bad publicity?!"

She immediately broke down at the end of his rant, making him regretful of his words. "I'm insecure, Sonic! I've always been insecure. Ever since your fan girls started nitpicking every one of my flaws and pointing out why I don't deserve you, it's gotten to me. It doesn't help that I spent years watching you parade around in front of them, flirting with them, sometimes right next to me! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be the lover of the man that everyone wants?"

"Uh, yeah." He answered as though it was obvious. "Ames, I don't know if you're blind or just naive but you get just as much attention as I do."

Amy scoffed. "I do not."

"Okay... For your twenty first birthday, we all went to the beach. You were wearing a bikini underneath your dress. You took the dress off and you were, all of a sudden, a piece of meat to a pack of hungry ferals."

The pink hedgehog blinked numerous times towards him in confusion. "I don't remember that."

"Because you didn't acknowledge them. I did. I saw them gawping and glancing. Nudging their friends to look at you. You're eye candy, Ames! You're the only one who can't see it. I mean, remember what Zenith did to you? Dressing you up in that wedding dress? He was extreme, granted. But that is another example of your fans."

She pondered before responding. "That may be true but I didn't acknowledge any of the stares nor do I entertain any of my fans in a way that comes across inappropriate."

"Other than Zenith..." He muttered.

"When we weren't together, I was in a state of vulnerability and I only ever saw him as a friend at the time. I didn't flirt with him. Besides, while we're talking about our jealousy, have you forgotten how you punched him off his chair because you assumed I had easily moved on from you?"

He chuckled softly. "He did deserve that." Having heard her point of view, he was beginning to understand her insecurities and realise his own jealousy. Perhaps he did have a small part to play in her lack of trust. It was something they had to work on going forward. "You have me there... Maybe I am a little enthusiastic with my female fans."

"Maybe?" She glared at him with a somewhat playful smile.

His lips twitched into a smile. Defeated, he jokingly knelt down on his knees and bowed before her. "I'm sorry for making you feel insecure."

"And I'm sorry for believing everyone else over you." She took his hands in hers. "Well, I'm sorry for everything."

"We've both been a little chaotic lately. But when there's no one else involved, we're great together."

"We are." Amy nodded. "So you forgive me for being a completely reckless, suicidal hedgehog?"

Sonic pretended to contemplate his decision. "On one condition..."

"Name it."

"You kissed another guy. That gives me a free pass."

Her eyes danced with surprise before being replaced with visible sadness. She reluctantly nodded. "Am I allowed to ask who?"

"Azalea." He smirked.

Amy sighed with relief, giggling at his request to kiss her recent alter ego. "Hm, I don't know. Amy might not like that." She teased.

"She doesn't have to find out." He grinned as he leaned forward and kissed her amorously. Playing as her alter ego, Amy used the same aggressive passion "Azalea" had used to kiss Dark. She dominated his lips, moaning softly to the euphoric feeling. Sonic couldn't help but partially grin into the kiss at her new aggressive streak. As much as he loved her passionate, sensual kiss, this new Feisty side was something he was more than keen to explore.

Breaking their kiss, Sonic took a seat next to his girlfriend and cuddled her close. "It's gonna take awhile to adjust to everything that's happened but we'll get through this." He reassured her. "We can celebrate Seren's birthday every year, make her a memorial garden. Anything to make this easier."

"I'd like that." She smiled as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"You know what, we need to get away from all this. We could go to that luxury getaway I bought from your birthday fundraiser."

Amy giggled. "Sonic, that was three years ago."

"Really? Oh yeah... Well let's just hope it's redeemable..." He chuckled nervously.

"Would be nice to getaway..."

"It's settled then." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

She looked into his eyes and smiled lovingly. "I love you too." He kissed him briefly before slowly getting up from the sofa. "I think we'd better get ready for bed."

Sonic chuckled awkwardly. "May be an obstacle to get to the bed what with the furniture being everywhere."

"Ah..." She looked away bashfully.

"We can always sleep on the roof." Sonic shrugged.

Amy nodded enthusiastically. "We can stargaze! Okay. Showers first then you can get the blankets."

"Why plural for the shower?" He smirked as his girlfriend gave him a devious smile. "I say we have a shower together and then I'll get the blankets."

"You're so bad." She tutted at him before walking upstair, towards the bathroom Chuckling to himself, the blue hedgehog shortly followed the girl towards the bathroom.

There was a saying or belief that the stars in the sky were an opening to the afterlife, where the love of the lost would shine through and let those who were missing them know they are happy. Perhaps it was a fairytale, a story of comfort.

That particular story brought all the comfort they needed that night.

* * *

**AN: It's finally over. Honestly, I wasn't that interested in the story from the beginning. The main reason I wrote this one was because I thought the sequel to "I'd love you more" had to be done. However, all of your comments have kept me motivated to get it done so thank you so much. (Moral to this: Don't write a story that you're half-assed to do).****I know everyone wanted Serenity to come back from the grave but I wanted to bring light on the reality that pregnancy can be a dangerous thing and doesn't always go to plan. In the Sonic universe, Sonic and friends could have easily gone back in time and solved it all.****But anyway, thank you for taking the time to read the story and this little drab I've put at the bottom (if you did read this part). Will try and make a little less dreary stories next time.****Star quote was inspired by Eskimo Proverb.**


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